Home › Case Library › United States v. Bean, Haley & Smith (Tyre Nichols new-trial appeal)
Awaiting decisionUnited States v. Bean, Haley & Smith (Tyre Nichols new-trial appeal)
Will the Sixth Circuit reinstate the Tyre Nichols officers' guilty verdicts?
Where the case stands
In August 2025, after original trial judge Mark Norris recused himself, Chief Judge Sheryl Lipman granted the three convicted officers a new trial, concluding due process required starting over; federal prosecutors appealed to the Sixth Circuit in September 2025. The officers' cross-appeals were dismissed in April 2026, and on Oct. 2, 2026 the government filed in the appeals court urging reversal of the new-trial order and reinstatement of the verdicts.
Background
Three of the five former Memphis police officers charged federally in the January 2023 traffic-stop beating death of Tyre Nichols, a case that produced national protests and police-reform debate after the city publicly released the arrest footage.
Charges
- Oct. 2024 federal jury verdict: Bean, Haley and Smith convicted of witness-tampering counts; Haley also convicted of a civil-rights violation causing bodily injury; the jury acquitted on the top civil-rights counts charging responsibility for Nichols' death
- Co-defendants Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. pleaded guilty
The arguments
Prosecution/State: The government argues the district court erred in concluding that due process required a new trial based on the original judge's conduct, and asks the Sixth Circuit to reinstate the jury's verdicts and remand for sentencing.
Defense: The officers contend the original trial was tainted by the appearance of judicial bias, so the new-trial order was a sound exercise of discretion that should be affirmed.
The record
- Released arrest footage. City of Memphis publicly released bodycam and SkyCop pole-camera video of the beating in January 2023; the footage was the core trial evidence and remains publicly viewable.
- Trial record. October 2024 federal trial record, including the officers' statements and testimony about the beating and its aftermath, underlies both the verdicts and the new-trial fight.
The line-setting read at the time this market opened
A new-trial grant is reviewed deferentially for abuse of discretion, which favors the officers, but the government frames the question as legal error about what due process requires, which gets fresher review. Reported coverage does not include a courtroom read on the panel.
Awaiting decision — The Sixth Circuit's decision on the government's appeal — reverse the new-trial order and reinstate the guilty verdicts for sentencing, or affirm and send the case back for retrial. The ruling is posted here, and on the board, the moment it's confirmed by two or more independent news organizations.
Sources
- Action News 5 — Prosecutors want court to dismiss new trial for ex-officers (Oct. 2, 2026)
- Daily Memphian — New trial appeal in Nichols case still pending, cross-appeals denied
- WSMV — Court dismisses appeals of ex-MPD officers (Apr. 7, 2026)
- NPR (via HPPR) — New trial ordered for 3 Memphis ex-officers (Aug. 29, 2025)
- Action News 5 — Prosecutors appeal new trial (Sept. 23, 2025)
- CBS News — Tyre Nichols footage release live coverage (video)
Public record
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