Judge Rejects Motion to Dismiss Jonathan Majors' Case
Marvel star Jonathan Majors is set to stand trial for domestic abuse charges after a judge rejected his appeal for dismissal.
Marvel actor Jonathan Majors (Loki, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) is set to stand trial on domestic abuse charges after a judge in New York denied a motion by Majors' attorneys to dismiss the case. The trial has an official start date of November 29th.
According to reports, Jonathan Majors appeared before a Manhattan judge this morning via Zoom, along with his defense attorneys Seth Zuckerman and Michael Gaffey. Majors' attorneys used the hearing as an opportunity to file a motion to request that some "contested evidence" remained sealed and barred from the public, in consideration of the "high profile" of the case, arguing that "the disclosure of sensitive information will limit Mr. Majors' right to a fair trial."
Majors' case stems back to March of this year, when he was arrested in Manhattan on charges of assault and aggravated harassment, following an alleged domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Majors has plead not guilty to a total of four charges, with up to a year in prison.
The fact that the trial is now preceding is something of another blow to Majors and his defense team. Back when he was first arrested, Majors' attorney Priya Chaudhry asserted that the actor would quickly be cleared of any wrongdoing:
"Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows," Chaudhry said in a statement to press. "We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently."
"All the evidence proves that Mr. Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever," Chaudhry also said. "Unfortunately, this incident came about because this woman was having an emotional crisis, for which she was taken to a hospital yesterday. The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr. Majors was arrested. We expect these charges to be dropped soon."
Clearly, these charges aren't going to be dropped so easily – and the D.A. doesn't seem to be leaning into the notion of pursuing assault charges against Jabbari, as Majors' attorneys wanted.
What Is The Jonathan Major Trial About?
According to the report, Jonathan Majors and Grace Jabbari were taking a ride home in New York, when they allegedly got into an argument about a text on Majors' phone that was spotted by Jabbari. As stated in court filings, Majors then allegedly "began grabbing the right side of Ms. Jabbari's body and prying Ms. Jabbari's right middle finger off the phone, causing bruising, swelling, and substantial pain... Then grabbed Ms. Jabbari's arm and right hand and proceeded to twist Ms. Jabbari's forearm, causing substantial pain to her finger and arm."
The most serious allegation is that "The defendant then struck Ms. Jabbari's right ear, causing a laceration to the back of her ear and substantial pain."
via Variety
