![Jonathan Majors Appears Before Manhattan Judge On Multiple Misdemeanor Assault Charges](https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1433749370-1200x900.jpg)
Jonathan Majors finally had his day in court regarding the multiple charges brought against him in late March.
According to Variety, Majors appeared before the court via Zoom. The hearing, which was reportedly brief, found lower Manhattan court Judge Rachel S. Pauley discussing a motion filed by Majors’ defense team. The prosecution has until May 23 to respond to the filing (the manner of which has yet to be disclosed to the public) and the defense has until May 31 to respond back.
Majors is due to appear in court again on June 13, when a final decision regarding said motion will be handed down by the judge. Majors will have to show up in person next time, however, as the judge noted that if he does not, a formal warrant for his arrest can be issued.
![Jonathan Majors Appears Before Manhattan Judge On Multiple Misdemeanor Assault Charges](https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1472911222-scaled.jpg)
The 33-year-old actor’s legal rep has unequivocally denied all claims of abuse on the actor’s part. In a statement released shortly after today’s court proceedings, Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry claimed that she had presented the District Attorney’s office with “irrefutable evidence that the woman is lying,” and called the proceedings “a witch hunt against Jonathan Majors, driven by baseless claims.”
“Instead of dismissing the allegations in the face of the woman’s clear lies, the D.A. has adjusted the charges to match the woman’s new lies. To be clear, there are no new charges against Mr. Majors,” Chaudhry said in a statement obtained by Yahoo! News. “Now, we have obtained even more video evidence of his innocence, but we are hesitant to share it, for fear the D.A. will tip the woman off to change her story again.”
In addition to accusations that the District Attorney is coaching or tipping off the alleged victim in this case to manipulate proceedings, Chaudhry claimed that the entire case against the Creed III star is based upon and being swayed by known implicit racial bias within the criminal justice system.
“The criminal justice system is saturated with explicit and implicit bias,” the statement continued. “When Mr. Majors showed a white police officer the injuries the woman caused him, the white officer got in Mr. Majors’s face and taunted him, saying that if the officer were to slap Mr. Majors, the officer wouldn’t break his finger. None of the white officers present investigated the assault of Mr. Majors. Worse, the District Attorney has not indicated any intention to pursue charges against the woman, or even investigate the truth.”
![Jonathan Majors Appears Before Manhattan Judge On Multiple Misdemeanor Assault Charges](https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1447062050.jpg)
“This glaring double standard between the treatment of Jonathan Majors, a Black man weighing 200 lbs., and his accuser, highlights the racial bias that permeates the criminal justice system,” Chaudhry concluded.
Majors was taken into police custody without incident on March 25, 2023, after an 11:00 am 911 call to his residence in Chelsea for an alleged domestic dispute, and a woman on the scene reported to authorities that she had been physically assaulted, according to ABC News.
The victim, an unnamed 30-year-old woman, was reportedly taken to a hospital after suffering what police said were minor injuries to her head and neck.
The official criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan DA’s Office alleged that Majors struck the woman “about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
There have been reports of prior alleged victims of Majors’ coming forward to cooperate with the Manhattan District Attorney in relation to similar incidents. The unnamed victim was also granted a temporary order of protection from Majors on April 27, according to Variety.