A lawyer Corey “C-Murder” Miller filed papers in court on Friday (October 10) seeking a brief postponement of the rapper’s murder trial, which was scheduled to being today (October 14).
Jury selection was to begin today, but Miller’s lawyer Ron Rakosky seeks to delay the trial due to the upcoming elections and the fact that presiding Judge Martha Sassone, who oversaw Miller’s first trial, is seeking re-election.
According to New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, Miller’s opponent Ellen Kovach has attacked Sassone’s decision to grant Miller a second trial during her bed to unseat Sassone, an 18-year-veteran of the 24th Judicial District Court.
Miller is charged with the January 12, 2002 shooting death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas inside of Club Platinum, a defunct nightclub in Harvey.
A jury convicted the popular rapper of the murder in September of 2003 and he was subsequently sentenced to a mandatory life sentence in prison.
Months later, Sassone overturned the conviction after it was revealed that prosecutors withheld key evidence and expunged the criminal records of several of their key witnesses, in exchange for testimony.
Sassone’s ruling led to a three year battle between Miller’s defense and prosecutors, which ended in the State Supreme Court upholding Sassone’s decision in March of 2006.
Miller is free on $500,000 bond and was on work release and allowed to travel under conditions and work.
In July, Miller was placed under full house arrest, while awaiting his second trial for the murder. Miller’s lawyer Ron Rakosky is seeking to delay the rapper’s trial until after the November 4 elections.
He has also been granted a subpoena ordering Kovach to provide any campaign materials, which he labeled “inflammatory rhetoric,” that may could bias any potential jurors.
Judge Sassone has deferred the issue to the state Judiciary Commission.
Kovach’s ad, which takes a swipe at Sassone’s decision, is below:
C-Murder’s latest video:
