Lil Durk and his legal team hoped to begin opening arguments in his murder-for-hire trial today (Friday, August 21). But a prospective juror's reported remarks on him and his codefendants is part of the reason why the jury selection process is taking longer than expected.
According to an exclusive AllHipHop report from Grouchy Greg Watkins, a male prospective juror said Durk and his codefendants looked guilty, thus stating he could not view them fairly. This man, juror number 18, reportedly said just looking at the codefendants made him feel like they were guilty, despite not yet hearing either side's arguments.
Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald reportedly removed juror number 18 from the pool, which includes roughly 80 prospective jurors. This jury selection process opened official court proceedings in this case yesterday (Thursday, August 20).
Reportedly, it's been going slower than expected today, and only about 40 percent of prospective jurors have been evaluated by the court so far. As such, having opening statements today seems unlikely, unless things move much more rapidly as of writing this article.
In order for testimony and opening statements to begin, the federal court must seat 12 impartial jurors and four alternates. We will see when this process will end next week.
Why Did Lil Durk Get Arrested?
For those unaware, Lil Durk faces several murder-for-hire-related charges, to which he and his codefendants have pleaded not guilty. Durk is at the center of prosecutors' allegations, which are that he arranged for a hit on Quando Rondo's life.
Rondo faced a shooting in Los Angeles in 2022 that took the life of his cousin, Lul Pab. Prosecutors also accused The Voice of another murder plot in Chicago, but the judge separated those allegations from this L.A. case.
Elsewhere, folks speaking out about the Lil Durk trial have brought up other criminal accusations tied to his name. For example, the mother of FBG Duck recently addressed the trial. She had accused him, OTF, and others of having something to do with the murder of her son.
But that has nothing to do with this federal case. For now, progress seems slow while the court finds its impartial jury.
