ASAP Rocky's lawyer, Chad Seigel, complained about the choices for the jury pool in the rapper's assault trial in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He is facing two counts of first-degree assault with a firearm for an alleged incident in which he stands accused of firing shots at his former friend, ASAP Relli.
The court narrowed down 106 people, but only five of them were Black, according to Meghann Cuniff. In turn, Seigel argued that the pool should be stricken as Black people comprise 9 percent of the population from where the group was drawn. Judge Arnold rejected the idea, saying: “There’s no authority that requires any particular percentage of any ethnicity on a jury.” Of the group of potential jurors, the court dismissed 15 for hardships. While many cases were related to the wildfires impacting Los Angeles, one admitted that they couldn't treat gun owners fairly as they don't believe in ownership of the weapons.
ASAP Rocky Arrives At His Criminal Trial
Elsewhere during the hearing, Rocky rejected a plea deal from the prosecution, which would've had him accept one assault charge in exchange for a sentence of 180 days in county jail with three years probation and a seven-year suspended prison sentence. “Alright, you understand that you never know what a jury’s gonna do? If it happens that it doesn’t go your way, people who are convicted of this crime, they go in custody and they go to prison,” Arnold said in response to the decision.
He further warned that Rocky won't get any "special treatment," adding: ”Your status as an entertainer? Your status as the significant other of Rihanna? That’s not going to go to your benefit, and it’s not going to go to your harm,” the judge continued. He told Rocky if he’s convicted, “You’ll go in custody, and it’s very likely you’ll get a significant prison sentence. You’re aware of that?” Prospective jurors will be reporting back to the courtroom at 10:30 AM, PST on Wednesday.
[Via]
