MINNEAPOLIS — Jury selection for a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death was halted before it began Monday by the state’s effort to add a third-degree murder charge.

As hundreds of protesters rallied outside the courthouse to call for Derek Chauvin’s conviction, Judge Peter Cahill said he did not have jurisdiction to rule on whether the third-degree murder charge should be reinstated while the issue is being appealed.

Cahill initially ruled jury selection would begin as scheduled, but after prosecutors asked the Court of Appeals to put the case on hold, the judge sent the potential jurors home for the day and the rest of the day was spent ruling on motions. Cahill later said jury selection would resume Tuesday barring an order from the appellate court.

There was no indication when that court will rule, but a hold could delay Chauvin’s trial for weeks.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to dismiss 16 of the first 50 jurors they reviewed “for cause” based on their answers to a lengthy questionnaire.