Jonathan Majors Trial Day 2: Judge Enforces Seal On Potentially 'Inflammatory' Evidence

In a new development on the second day of Jonathan Majors' domestic violence trial, the presiding judge has enforced the seal on some evidence. Judge Michael Gaffey ruled that the evidence was "prejudicial and inflammatory" to the ongoing case. Majors himself was present at the trial with his lawyers and girlfriend, Meagan Good.

Majors' accuser is his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari, who's already a scheduled witness for the prosecution. The DA has also stated that it won't be prosecuting Jabbari on claims that she was the aggressor in the incident. Jury selection has also begun for the case and should conclude in the coming days.

On the first day of the trial, there was heated debate over the sealed evidence, which Judge Gaffey revealed he would rule on the following day.

On the second day of Majors' infamous domestic violence trial, Judge Gaffey made some major rulings regarding evidence for the case. The first was that the jury would hear evidence that Majors' accuser, ex-girlfriend Jabbari, was also arrested for the physical violence incident.

The second ruling Gaffey made was to enforce the seal on evidence that was already under seal. He called the evidence "prejudicial and inflammatory" to the ongoing case. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office confirmed to Deadline that enforcing the seal was a "sealed decision." Sources told the publication that the evidence is information on previous incidents involving Majors in the U.S. and U.K.

When Judge Gaffey made the ruling to keep the evidence sealed, Majors' lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, made no comment. The DA's office wanted the evidence introduced to the case under the Molineux rule, which is a legal standard in New York that allows previous uncharged allegations of criminal behavior to be used in a new trial.

Majors was present on both days of the trial and remained calm as Judge Gaffey made the rulings. The "Antman and The Wasp: Quantumania" actor sat facing the jurors, watching them with his legs crossed, and took notes as each potential juror answered questions from the questionnaire. He also had a bible on the defense table, just like the previous day.

When Gaffey introduced Majors to the jurors, the actor stood to face them and greeted them with a short bow and with his hands clasped on his chest.

The actor attended the trial wearing a fedora hat, black buttoned coat, and dark suit. He was joined by his girlfriend, actress Meagan Good, who held his hand as they left the courtroom, similar to their actions yesterday at the first hearing.

Majors' accuser is his ex-girlfriend Jabbari, who's scheduled to testify for the prosecution. It's still unclear if Majors will take the witness stand to speak in his own defense. From the day of his arrest in late March, Majors' lawyers have insisted that Jabbari was the aggressor in the allegedly violent incident, not their client.

In June, Chaudhry filed a countersuit against Jabbari, which led to a brief investigation against her. However, the DA's office has stated that it would not pursue the allegations that Jabbari was the instigator of the incident between her and Majors. When the investigation against her began, Jabbari cooperated with police and turned herself in.

Shortly after, the DA released a statement that it had "officially declined to prosecute the case against Grace Jabbari because it lacks prosecutorial merit." Despite that refusal, Judge Gaffey has approved that her arrest be made known to the jurors. He said, "This is a situation where I think it is information that should be put before a jury. The jury should hear about it."

Jury selection for the domestic violence trial began on the second day and will likely conclude this week. At the end of the selection procedure, there'll be six jurors and at least one alternate to determine whether Majors is culpable for the alleged violence against Jabbari. The actual trial will begin after that, likely on Monday next week.

When the first day of trial began, Judge Gaffey was forced to remove spectators from the courtroom for the immensely popular case. He did the same thing on the second day but re-opened the courtroom to spectators and the press about 30 minutes later. At that time, he declared the issues from two closed-door hearings as "resolved" and promised not to lock out the public again.