Maryland Appeals Court Allows Rap Lyrics to Be used in Murder Trial
Courthouse News Service, January 2, 2021: Maryland Appeals Court Allows Rap Lyrics to Be used in Murder Trial
“The case is both a warning and a reminder of how the criminal justice system has used hip hop’s often raw and criminal thematic leanings in criminal proceedings despite the possibility of it unfairly prejudicing the defendant.
In a lengthy opinion released just before Christmas, Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Getty wrote for the majority of the seven-member panel that the details in Montague’s rap were uniquely probative, or relevant, despite other courts’ nationwide wariness of admitting such evidence.”
Additional Reading:
Lawrence Ervin Montague v. State of Maryland, No. 2033, September Term 2017: Opinion by Kehoe, J.
NPR, November 5, 2020: Drakeo The Ruler Released from Jail After Accepting Plea Deal
Complex, June 11, 2020: Why Are the NYPD ‘Hip-Hop Police’ Spying on Rappers?
