Nicki Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj, has been convicted of predatory sexual assault on a child and child endangerment but he's been trying to have the conviction set aside. He and his legal team claimed there was misconduct among the jury when they turned over the verdict but it appears the judge just wasn't biting. According to Newsday, Maraj's request was denied by the State Supreme Court Justice Robert McDonald.
It's been nearly two years since Maraj's conviction after prosecutors successfully accused him of sexually abusing and raping his stepdaughter from 2015 to 2017 from when she was 11-years-old. He denied that any of the allegations were true and essentially claimed that this was extortion to get money from Nicki.
However, David Schwartz, the lawyer for Maraj, said that "there was clear jury misconduct." He argued that social media and news articles influenced the jurors decision.
State Supreme Court Justice Robert McDonald ruled that "not every misstep by a juror rises to the inherent and prejudicial level at which reversal is required." He added that Maraj nor his legal team met the "burden of proof that any misconduct here created a significant risk that a substantial right of the defendant was prejudiced."
Maraj's mother, Carol, called the ruling "unfair."
"The jurors admitted that they were swayed by TV, radio, the bloggers ... listening to what the comments were. Can you tell me why juror misconduct was not proven today? ... This is ridiculous," Carol Maraj said.
