Young Dolph’s murder trial will now pull jurors from outside of his hometown of Memphis, Judge Jennifer J. Mitchell ruled last Friday. The decision comes in response to the intense media coverage of the rapper’s killing swaying public opinion on the case. Defendant Justin Johnson’s lawyer, Luke Evans, noted in his original filing that “the victim in the case is beloved here.”
In her ruling, Mitchell said: “This court is wary that jurors from Shelby County will not be able to lay aside their opinions or impressions and render a verdict based upon the evidence presented.” Prosecutor Paul Hagerman previously suggested having a potential jury pool of about 150 to 200 people fill out questionnaires to “gauge the effect of news coverage and social media commentary.” Mitchell, however, was concerned that strategy could delay the trial even further. It’s already moved back from its original start date of March 11 to June 3.
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Mia Jaye, Dolph’s fiancée and the mother of his children, has complained about the lack of progress made in the case since the rapper’s death in 2021. “I’m fed up. It’s been two years’ worth of conspiracies. Two years’ worth of unknowing. Two years’ worth of people not properly communicating to you,” she told Rolling Stone, last year. “I didn’t know if garnering more attention would hurt or help, and I wanted to help. I feel like I tried that, and I don’t feel like it was helping, I feel like we weren’t being taken seriously.”
It’s unclear where which county the additional jurors will now be pooled from. “We can get this jury from wherever,” Hagerman said. “We’re going to try this case, and we’re going to see this thing until the end.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Young Dolph’s murder trial on HotNewHipHop.
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