Last Friday, the City of Minneapolis approved a $1,181,500 budget to hire a cadre of specialists. They are called "influencers," and they were to start this week, coinciding with the trial of Derek Covin, charged in the  controversial knee-on-the-neck killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

But yesterday, on the eve of the trial, word went out about the "influencer" squad, and it caused a public-relations nightmare. The city shut down the idea even before launch.

Though short-lived in Minneapolis, the idea may have new life or new versions elsewhere.

Leid stories looks at this development, discussing its possible wide-ranging effects on the justice system, its implications for trial integrity, and the conflicts and contradictions that inevitably will arise.