Tory Lanez‘s appeal of his conviction for shooting Megan Thee Stallion has been hit with another delay, as the court has granted the government’s latest request.
The government has to file a response to Lanez’s opening brief, in which he lays out his case for appeal. Lanez’s legal team submitted that brief in late February.
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According to a court docket obtained by HipHopDX, prosecutors initially requested more time to respond to Lanez’s take on his case back in March, The judge agreed, and gave them until May 28.
Subsequently, the prosecution made a request for another extension on Tuesday (May 21), which was granted on Thursday (May 23). The prosecution now has until June 27 to file their answer to Lanez’s brief.
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Check out the full docket below.
Tory Lanez’s appeal suffers another setback as prosecutors’ request causes delay pic.twitter.com/fk6cVrCMNm
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) May 24, 2024
Back in February, the Canadian rapper/singer (real name Daystar Peterson) submitted a case based on “Erroneous Admission of Evidence” and “Prosecutorial Misconduct,” with an opening brief that spans 103 pages.
“The arguments largely match arguments made in his motion for a new trial that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford rejected in May,” Law & Crime reporter Meghann Cuniff pointed out.
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“The filing builds on a habeas petition filed in December with a declaration from Lanez’s driver that says he saw Lanez try to take a gun away from Megan’s friend Kelsey Harris before the shooting occurred, but it also says the driver did not see who fired the shots.”
On February 27, Cuniff took to Twitter/X and shared: “The most surprising thing about the brief is how quickly it was filed […] This fast turnaround could mean we have a decision from the Second District by the end of the year.”
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In September, Lanez was officially sent to prison to serve his time, marking the conclusion of the high-profile shooting case. He was sentenced to a decade behind bars by Judge David Herriford the month before, which was three less than the prosecution was seeking.
He was facing a maximum of 22 years and eight months, as well as subsequent deportation to Canada (which will still be enforced once he’s released from prison).
Soon after the final ruling in 2023, a scathing written statement from Megan Thee Stallion was read aloud by District Attorney Kathy Ta in court.
In it, she blasted Tory for spinning false narratives about the shooting and making light of her “trauma” in subsequent music releases. As a result, she said she had “not experienced a single day of peace” since the shooting.
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“He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma,” Megan wrote. “He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul.
“He lied to anyone that would listen and paid bloggers to disseminate false information about the case on social media. He released music videos and songs to damage my character and continue his crusade.”
