Updated as of X:X:p.m. ET on 12/X/2023: As this week comes to close, a jury has been officially selected in Jonathan Majors domestic dispute case.
Per Deadline, opening statements will begin on Monday, Dec. 4. The trial is expected to last two weeks and Majors’ accuser Grace Jabbari is a “scheduled witness for the DA’s office.” Whether or not the Creed III star will take the stand in his own defense has yet to be determined.
See original story below.
On Wednesday, Jonathan Majors appeared inside a Manhattan courtroom to begin preceedings for his domestic dispute case.
As extensively covered by The Root, the start date of a trial—and the possibility of it outright—had been oncoming for months due to delays since his initial arrest back in March. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Majors showed up with a Bible, brown mug and girlfriend Meagan Good in tow. A source close to Majors told The Messenger that Good intends to be present beside him during the unfolding of this trial, adding that she’s reportedly “been his rock and by his side daily.”
While jury selection began today, the judge presiding over the case also heard arguments from both Majors’ team and a lawyer representing the media who were arguing against and for, respectively, documents currently being kept under seal. Though the exact contents of those documents are unknown to the media, per THR, they argued that it’s “within public interest for the materials to be released.” Majors’ team, however want the documents to remain under seal and for the court to be closed during arguments as they feel it would “have a highly prejudicial impact on the jury.” To that, the lawyer representing the media argued that Majors’ team had already made several public statements that fostered “pre-trial publicity.”
Ultimately, Judge Michael Gaffey moved to seal the hearing and the document, citing the decision as “the only way to prevent tainting the jury pool.” However, if the information is later found to be “admissible evidence for trial,” he’ll make it public.
This trial comes months after numerous pre-trial hearings and a plethora of conflicting accounts of what happened back in March when the Devotion star was taken into custody and later released over alleged abuse of his accuser and ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. He currently faces “two counts of assault in the third degree, attempted assault in the third degree, aggravated harassment in the second degree, and harassment in the second degree.” If convicted, he could spend up to a year in jail.
Last month, arguably one of the biggest plot twists ( among many it seems) in this case took place when less than 24 hours after a New York judge Majors would stand trial, his accuser, Grace Jabbari, was arrested on charges of misdemeanor counts of assault and criminal mischief. She was subsequently released the same evening on a desk appearance ticket, which means she’ll have to return to criminal court for an arraignment at a later date. Despite her arrest, the D.A.’s office in the case have previously stated that they will not prosecute her.
Majors has pled not guilty to all charges and maintained his innocence since the beginning.