Tupac Shakur Trial: 1994-95

One day after the jury began deliberating the verdict, Shakur and Fuller were entering a recording studio shortly after midnight when they were approached by several men with guns. The robbers ordered the men to give them all their jewelry and to lie on the ground. When Shakur reportedly refused, one of the gunmen shot him five times, and the robbers made off with $40,000 worth of jewelry that he had been wearing. The defendant was taken to the hospital, treated, and held for observation.

Against his doctor's wishes, Shakur left the hospital soon after surgery and, wearing a knit Yankees baseball hat pulled over the top of his heavily bandaged head, returned to the courtroom in a wheelchair. If jury members were startled or curious about the sudden change in the defendant's appearance, Justice Fitzgerald left them to puzzle it out for themselves.

Shakur's courtroom appearance was brief; he was taken back to the hospital for further treatment and was there when the jury rendered its opinion. After only three days of deliberation the jury returned to the courtroom with its verdict: Shakur and codefendant Fuller were found guilty of sexual abuse and acquitted on the other charges. Apparently, the jury had not been convinced that sodomy or illegal possession of firearms had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Shakur's attorney claimed to be "ecstatic" that the rap star had been acquitted on the more serious charges, but quickly added that the defense would appeal the one guilty verdict. One of the grounds for an appeal had been given to the defense several hours before the verdict was reached when James revealed to the court and defense counsel that the prosecution had inadvertently withheld evidence from the defense—photographs of the victim's chest taken the day after the alleged attack had been misfiled and were not found until the morning of the disclosure. While withheld evidence is often sufficient grounds to move for a mistrial, the defense decided to wait until the verdict was announced before determining what action to take.