Accused Nipsey Hussle killer Eric Holder and his lawyer have requested to have transcripts from his grand jury hearing sealed until after the trial to ensure a fair and impartial ruling.
A new report from the Los Angeles Times explains that Holder and his public defender, Lowynn Young, pushed for L.A. County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry to seal transcripts from the grand jury until after trial. They made the argument that public release of the records could affect their case so much so that witnesses and experts might decide not to come forward in Holder’s defense. The Times’ attorneys had their own rebuttal to that claim though, arguing that Holder “does not offer a shred of evidence” to justify delaying those records from going public, whether it be months or years.
See below for a brief look at how the L.A. Times responded to the filing:
“Here, the modest pretrial publicity in this case does not even remotely compare with the publicity in the Martha Stewart trial, the Manson Family trial, the John DeLorean trial, the Watergate trials, or the Abscam trials,” Times attorneys argued in the filing. “Yet, in all of those cases, courts rejected the defendants’ arguments that pretrial publicity had interfered with their right to a fair trial. This Court should do the same.”
The indictment was unsealed May 21. Unless there is an objection, transcripts from a grand jury hearing are made public 10 days after they are provided to the defendant or his attorney.
The transcripts would offer a more detailed glimpse into the prosecution’s case against Holder.
The records in question center around the 23-member grand jury panel that returned a six-count indictment — one count of murder, two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon — after being presented evidence during a three-day hearing back in May. Eric Holder, who pleaded not guilty, faces life in state prison if convicted for the murder of Nipsey Hussle.
