Overview
- Jury selection for Lil Durk’s federal murder-for-hire case began on Aug. 20 and finished with a 16-person panel of 12 jurors and four alternates after two days of voir dire.
- Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, faces charges tied to an alleged August 2022 plot to kill rapper Quando Rondo that left Rondo’s cousin Lul Pab dead and carries a possible life sentence if convicted.
- U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald has allowed prosecutors to introduce portions of Durk’s music video, interviews, texts and other materials as evidence while severing separate racketeering counts into a later proceeding.
- Jury selection slowed after a prospective juror said the defendants “looked guilty” and the judge warned courtroom supporters who were handing out “Free Durk” postcards about possible contempt charges.
- The trial will test prosecutors’ interstate-retaliation theory and could set a precedent on when artistic expression is admissible as proof of motive or intent, with opening statements scheduled to begin Monday morning.