Marion ‘Suge’ Knight has accused the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department of listening in on his conversations with his lawyers, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com.
The former Death Row Records boss is currently jailed and facing charges of murder and attempted murder for running over two men in Compton, California, with his red truck in January 2015.
The 52-year-old’s trial is slated to begin next week but his legal team filed a motion late last month to the Los Angeles Superior Court claiming disqualified judges granted orders that allowed the prosecution and sheriff’s department to listen in on his phone calls.
Citing this ‘abuse of power’, Knight’s attorneys are requesting all court orders from early last year to be thrown out because their client would not be receiving a fair trial.
Marion ‘Suge’ Knight has accused the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and prosecution of listening in on his attorney-client privileged conversations in aspect to his upcoming murder trial, which is scheduled to begin next week
Knight’s lawyers also claim the opposition is using these orders to ruin the relationship between Knight and his fiancee Toi-Lin Kelly (pictured), who has Power of Attorney for Knight
According to the court documents, Knight’s team claims that the prosecution and sheriff’s department were granted these ‘eavesdropping’ orders by judges who were not qualified to grant them.
Knight’s calls and jail visits between his lawyers have been reviewed by the opposition since August 2016, the motion claims.
The motion states: ‘The Prosecution and Sheriffs have secretly listened to every word the undersigned has ever spoken to the Defendant.
‘Using void orders from disqualified judges, the Prosecution and Sheriffs currently continue to this day to listen to every word the undersigned speaks to the Defendant and their jail visits, despite attorney-client privilege protections. This abuse of power described herein was set in motion been by the power warranted from these void orders.
‘Defendant will suffer continued irreparable harm to his ability to properly defend himself if the present circumstance set forth herein below, are not immediately judicially addressed.
‘At the present, the undersigned have NO MEANS of counseling their client without government interference and eavesdropping. ‘
However, a judge denied the motion to have the orders thrown out, TMZ later reported.
The former Death Row Records boss is currently jailed and facing charges of murder and attempted murder for running over two men in Compton, with his red truck in January 2015
The lawyers argue that the judges were disqualified in granting these orders because a judge partially recused himself in Knight’s case, which is barred in the State of California.
Knight’s team also accuse the opposition of using the ‘void’ orders in their attempt to ‘destroy’ Knight’s ‘relationship’ with his fiancee Toi-Lin Kelly.
Kelly was sentenced to 100 hours of community service in October for selling a video that was sealed evidence in Knight’s upcoming murder trial.
Kelly pleaded no consent and was ordered to pay $55,000 to the hamburger stand in Compton that provided surveillance video of Knight hitting two men with his truck two years ago.
Kelly had sold the video to TMZ for the same amount.
Knight has been incarcerated since his February 2015 arrest for running down two men at the burger stand parking lot in Compton, killing businessman and friend Terry Carter and injuring Cle ‘Bone’ Sloan.
Knight’s legal team filed a motion in December claiming disqualified judges granted orders that allowed the prosecution and sheriff’s department to listen in on his phone calls. Pictured: The scene of the accident where two men were run over
Citing this ‘abuse of power’, Knight’s attorneys are requesting all court orders from early last year to be thrown out because their client would not be receiving a fair trial. Pictured: Knight’s red truck that was involved in the murder and attempted murder case
Carter and Sloan had been working as security on the location set for the NWA biopic movie Straight Outta Compton and earlier in the day got in a dispute with Knight.
Knight has pleaded not guilty and claims he accidentally struck Carter as he fled the scene in fear for his life, suspecting an armed ambush.
The former rap mogul was charged with murder, attempted murder and two counts of felony hit-and-run in the incident and could face 25 years to life in prison, if convicted.
Although behind bars, Knight still talks about his beliefs about what happened to rapper Tupac Shakur, who he was with on September 7, 1996, – the night he obtained his fatal gun shot wounds.
The pair, who had earlier attended the Bruce Seldon vs Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand were stopped at a red light when a ‘bow-tied’ assassin opened fire.
Tupac was shot four times , twice in the chest, once in the arm and once in the thigh.
In April, Knight claimed that his ex-wife and former Death Row Records security chief Reggie White Jr killed Tupac Shakur (pictured together), and insisted he was the real target of the 1996 drive-by
He died from his wounds six days later from respiratory failure that led to cardiac arrest with his killer never being identified.
In September, Knight told Ice-T and Soledad O’Brien from jail for the Fox special Who shot Biggie and Tupac?, that he believes the rapper could still be alive.
He said: ‘When Pac died… if he really did, you know.
‘I mean when I left that hospital, me and Pac was laughing and joking. So I don’t see how someone can turn from doing well to doing bad.’
When asked by the incredulous host if he seriously thought the music legend might still be alive, Suge responded: ‘I’m gonna tell you with Pac, you never know.’
And back in April, Knight claimed that his ex-wife and former Death Row Records security chief Reggie White Jr killed Tupac Shakur, and insisted he was the real target of the 1996 drive-by.
SUGE KNIGHT’S RAP SHEET
Suge Knight, who is currently facing murder charges, has an arrest record that goes back to 1987
1987: Knight was arrested for domestic violence, allegedly stealing a car, carrying a concealed weapon and attempted murder.
1990: Knight pleaded guilty to two battery charges.
1991: Rumor has it Knight held Vanilla Ice over a balcony to get him to sign over his publishing rights – which he reportedly did.
1992: Charged with assault and battery.
1996: Knight was sent to prison for nearly five years for badly beating a rival with rapper Tupac Shakur at a Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel. The beating came shortly before Shakur suffered fatal gunshot wounds.
1997: Linked to death of Notorious B.I.G.
2002: Knight was jailed for violating his probation by associating with gang members in Los Angeles.
2003: He went back to jail on a parole violation after punching a parking lot attendant outside a Hollywood nightclub.
2005: Knight was shot in the leg during an MTV Video Music Awards pre-party in Miami. No arrests were made.
2006: Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy, and a Los Angeles judge ordered a trustee to take it over because of gross mismanagement.
2009: Knight was hospitalized for treatment of facial injuries following a fight at a hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona.
2013: The rap music figure was arrested on an outstanding warrant and later released after being pulled over for a traffic violation in Los Angeles.
2014: Ahead of the MTV Video Music Awards, Knight was shot six times during an altercation at a Hollywood nightclub at a party hosted by Chris Brown.
2014: Katt Williams and Knight were accused of stealing a camera from a photographer. He pleaded not guilty after being charged with robbery and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
2015: Knight was arrested on suspicion of murder in a hit-and-run wreck that killed a man and injured another.
Pictured: Motion filed on behalf of Suge Knight claiming that the prosecution and sheriff’s department was listening in on his phone calls without his knowledge
