An Arizona Superior Court judge ruled last Friday (May 8) that cameras will not be allowed during the weapons trial of Grammy winner Lil Wayne.
Judge Mark Wayne Reeves decreed that the press will be able to attend and report the trial proceedings.
However, Reeves added that the rap superstar’s legal right to a fair trial was paramount, and the decision was made to prevent Wayne’s trial from degrading into a media circus.
Lil Wayne, real name Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr, was arrested last year on January 28.
Border Patrol officials on Interstate 8 East allegedly discovered an ounce of cocaine, 41 grams of Ecstasy, and close to four ounces of marijuana from the rapper’s tour bus.
Wayne was also originally booked on weapons charges, but was later cleared after the .40 caliber pistol was found to be registered under a Florida concealed weapons permit.
The New Orleans star has had to battle numerous old outstanding court cases in 2009.
In New York, Wayne began a gun trial in April which stemmed from a 2007 arrest on drugs and weapons charges.
In March, a Georgia judge exonerated Wayne of felony drug charges from an August 2006 arrest in Atlanta.
It was a ruled that the search which yielded marijuana, hydrocodone and Xanas was done illegally.
At press time, a start date for Wayne’s Arizona trial has not been announced.