Drake won’t be required to testify in XXXTENTACION‘s upcoming murder trial. Mauricio Padilla, Dedrick Williams’ defense attorney, attempted to get the judge to perpetuate a deposition from Drake inside a Broward County courtroom on Tuesday (January 10). According to Local 10 News, Padilla claimed Drake and people associated with him—including Akademiks—had issues with the late rapper.
Williams and Padilla made the request for Drake and Akademiks’ participation last month. The court docs, obtained by AllHipHop, said: “The testimony of the said Aubrey Drake Graham is material to the case, and it is necessary to take the deposition of the said Aubrey Drake Graham to prevent the failure of justice.”
The judge ultimately denied the motion, saying there was “no need” to make an order to force Drake or Akademiks to be deposed. All parties later agreed no one would be permitted to wear graphic t-shirts during the trial for or against any of the defendants or XXXTENTACION.
The state also attempted to prevent the defense teams from disparaging XXXTENTACION‘s character, but they fired back, saying Assistant State Attorney Pascale Achille’s request was “too broad.” They said Achille could use it to prevent them from saying XXXTENTACION was involved with people who may have wanted to harm him, arguing it “shows intent not character.” The judge decided he’d deal with that issue during trial.
Williams’ co-defendants, Michael Boatwright and Treyvon Newsome, were also in court on Tuesday ahead of testimony, which begins on Wednesday (January 18).