Defense attorney says jury held “preconceived notions” in Tupac trial

Michael Sanft, the defense attorney for Duane “Keffe D” Davis, said the jury entered the Tupac Shakur murder case with “preconceived notions” about his client. Davis was convicted Monday of first-degree murder for Shakur’s 1996 shooting death.

Sanft said he was surprised by the verdict, pointing to the less than three hours the jury spent deliberating. “I’m surprised. With the amount of evidence that should have been considered by the jury, I don’t believe that they went through it,” he told CBS News. “My feeling is that they had preconceived notions, and those notions was what led to the conviction for Duane Davis.”

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I’m surprised. With the amount of evidence that should have been considered by the jury, I don’t believe that they went through it.

Nevada law does not require juries to deliberate for a set period. Sanft said his concerns at the start of the trial had focused on “bigger issues,” including pretrial disputes over which evidence would be admitted.

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My feeling is that they had preconceived notions, and those notions was what led to the conviction for Duane Davis.

Prosecutors said Davis obtained the weapon used in the shooting and organized the Sept. 6, 1996, Las Vegas drive-by attack in retaliation for the earlier beating of his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal said Davis was “hunting” for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, who survived after being wounded.

Prosecutors did not claim Davis fired the gun. Under Nevada law, however, a person can be convicted of murder for helping someone else commit the crime. They played audio from a 2008 police interview in which Davis said Anderson fired after Davis passed the gun to the back seat. Anderson was never charged and later died in an unrelated shooting.

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hunting

Davis initially received an offer of protection from prosecution in exchange for cooperating with authorities. Prosecutors argued that publishing his 2019 book, “Compton Street Legend,” and giving public interviews invalidated the agreement. The book placed Davis in the Cadillac used in the shooting and described obtaining a Glock .40 from drug dealer Eric “Zip” Martin, although Davis later said he had “never read” the book and had only received a co-author credit. The defense also challenged Judge Carli Kierny’s decision to admit evidence about Davis’s alleged gang leadership and drug trafficking.

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It is a slam-dunk, absolutely no defense to murder case.