Opening Statements Begin In NYC

Jonathan Majors, and his girlfriend, Meagan Good, flanked by his lawyer Priya Chaudhry (R), arrive at Manhattan Prison court docket for his pre-trial listening to on August 3, 2023, in New York Metropolis. | Supply: Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty

Opening statements have been lastly set for Monday within the home violence trial wherein film star Jonathan Majors is accused of assaulting his former girlfriend in a case that has rocked Hollywood and positioned an emphasis on the subject of race.

Majors’ protection lawyer will lastly get an opportunity to plead her case in a court docket of legislation in opposition to prosecutors from the Manhattan District Lawyer’s Workplace following months of strategic appeals to the court docket of public opinion for the reason that actor’s high-profile arrest for allegedly putting Grace Jabbari again in March.

MORE: The Marvelous Rise Of Jonathan Majors

Priya Chaudhry, Majors’ lawyer, has maintained her shopper’s innocence and alleged police bias, claiming that the officers current failed to research the alleged assault correctly and coached Jabbari to accuse the actor of assault. Chaudhry has additionally claimed to have offered video footage and witness testimonies supporting Majors’ innocence. As well as, Chaudhry mentioned Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg’s workplace tends to “weaponize accusations the place a Black man is accused by a white lady.”

Jabbari is white.

Jury choice within the trial started final week and was accomplished on Friday.

If convicted, Majors faces as much as a yr in jail.

Examine again for frequent updates because the trial strikes ahead.

Within the meantime, Majors has been an upstanding citizen together with, as soon as, notably as a Good Samaritan after being proven on video purportedly breaking apart a highschool struggle in footage that went viral and invited suspicion of being staged to provide optimistic press protection for the actor.

Majors has additionally discovered love with actress Meaghan Good, who has faithfully been by the actor’s facet throughout his court docket dates main as much as the trial.

With that because the backdrop for the trial, right here’s all the things else it is advisable know as opening statements are set to start:

What’s Majors accused of doing?

On March 25, the NYPD arrested Majors outdoors of his Chelsea condominium.

He and Jabbari allegedly received right into a dispute as they have been inside a cab using to Manhattan from Brooklyn. Chaudhry claims Jabbari “was making an attempt to steal” Majors’ cellphone when the incident occurred. Chaudhry filed authorized paperwork in Manhattan stating that the cab driver witnessed Jabbari assault the actor round 1 a.m., hours earlier than he was arrested.

After the incident, Jabbari allegedly advised police that she had suffered a damaged finger and a laceration behind her ear, however Chaudhry mentioned there may be video footage to show that the lady’s assertion was “an entire lie.” Safety footage obtained by TMZ confirmed the lady in a nightclub shortly after the incident with Majors utilizing her proper hand usually — the identical hand that she claimed Majors injured earlier than they parted methods earlier within the evening.

The opinion of a forensic medical skilled has additionally been touted by Chaudhry as one other manner to assist put an finish to claims of home assault in opposition to Majors, who will be capable to file a civil swimsuit in opposition to Jabbari if he’s discovered harmless.

In late March, Chaudhry launched a screenshot of a textual content message to Majors wherein Jabbari appeared to take the blame for the incident. She allegedly assured the actor that she didn’t inform the police she was attacked.

“Please let me know you’re okay while you get this,” she allegedly wrote within the texts. “They assured me that you simply gained’t be charged.”

Jabbari allegedly continued: “They mentioned they needed to arrest you as protocol once they noticed the accidents on me and so they knew we had a struggle. I’m so offended that they did. And I’m sorry you’re on this place.”

On April 19, Selection reported that extra ladies have come ahead with allegations of abuse in opposition to Majors. They’re cooperating with the Manhattan District Lawyer’s workplace.

In late October, Jabbari was arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of assault and felony mischief earlier than Bragg’s workplace mentioned it “declined to prosecute the case in opposition to Grace Jabbari as a result of it lacks prosecutorial benefit.”

Even earlier than the shock arrest of Majors, folks within the film business have been reportedly calling the actor an abuser. These unfounded accusations have been trumpeted even louder shortly after Majors’ arrest in a sequence of tweets which have since been deleted.

Because the arrest, Majors has been dropped by his reps at Lede and his administration firm, Leisure 360. The destiny of his future in Hollywood is unclear.

Priya Chaudhry, lawyer for Jonathan Majors, leaves Manhattan Prison court docket on Might 9, 2023, in New York Metropolis. | Supply: Alexi J. Rosenfeld / Getty

Chaudhry’s previous high-profile circumstances

Chaudhry is described on her web site as an award-winning lawyer who’s “[n]ationally acknowledged as a premier felony trial lawyer.” It additionally says she has labored “over 40 jury trials in over 20 years of observe in a few of the nation’s most complex and high-profile felony circumstances.”

Most not too long ago, simply final month Chaudhry secured the total acquittal of one other high-profile Black male shopper accused of a violent crime in New York Metropolis. Chaudhry touted the not-guilty verdict for Adam Foss, a former Boston prosecutor and distinguished felony justice-reform advocate charged in 2017 with allegedly raping and assaulting a 25-year-old lady. In doing so, Chaudhry claimed Bragg “ignored” proof that ought to have precluded any felony costs in opposition to Foss – claims much like these she’s made concerning the district lawyer’s workplace’s case in opposition to Majors.

In a pair of separate statements emailed to NewsOne, Chaudhry has additionally questioned the ethics of Braggs’ workplace and cited an “eagerness” to convey hasty felony costs — notably when a Black man is accused of a violent crime by a white lady.

“Moreover, there’s a regarding development inside the Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s workplace to weaponize accusations the place a Black man is accused by a white lady, casting apart the necessity for strong proof in favor of narrative-driven prosecutions,” Chaudhry mentioned. “This represents a misapplication of justice, fueled by societal biases that haven’t any place in a system pledged to equity and equality.”

Chaudhry went on to accuse Braggs’ workplace of getting “strayed from its mission to impartially uphold the legislation. As a substitute, it has drifted towards a path of character assassination and publicity-driven prosecution.”

Different high-profile circumstances wherein Chaudhry was the protection lawyer produced blended outcomes.

SEE ALSO:

NYC DA’s Workplace That Shortly Charged Jonathan Majors Took Its Time Deciding If Jordan Neely Was Murdered

‘Snowbunnied?’ Dr. Umar Johnson Has Questions About Jonathan Majors’ Arrest

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