Blood, knives, a car trunk, dragging a dead body … there’s an eery similarity between images in music videos by pop superstar D4vd and facts alleged by prosecutors in the murder and sexual crimes case against him. On this Shmoozic Biz episode, music attorneys Bill Hochberg and Sami Kazi are joined by ace criminal defense attorney Lou Shapiro, who examines potential murder evidence from the music and art of D4vd, as well as evidence of his music business promotional activities around the time of the alleged murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez… and whether any of it is admissible as evidence. Lou is known for aggressively, creatively, and successfully representing defendants in state and federal criminal cases and he knows the system from the inside out. The intersection between criminal law and music law is a busy intersection indeed these days and we crash right into it.

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Table of Contents

00:00 — Can D4vd’s Music Videos Be Used as Evidence?
00:35 – Meet Lou Shapiro, Criminal Defense Attorney
01:05 — How Strong Is the Murder Case?
02:04 — Texts, Location Data and Alleged Motive
04:09 — Record Deals, Endorsements and Morals Clauses
09:07 — “Romantic Homicide” as Evidence
11:40 — Lessons From the Young Thug and Jam Master Jay Trials
15:52 — D4vd’s Reported $19 Million Record Deal
16:53 — Will D4vd Testify—and Can He Get a Fair Jury?
20:28 — Prison Exposure and a Possible Defense Strategy
24:21 — Plea Deal, Special Circumstances and the Death Penalty

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Bill Hochberg is a music and media lawyer at Raines Feldman Littrell LLP and he writes regularly in Forbes and other top publications on the business and law of music.

Our musical theme is "8 Church Birds" by billeeto. https://tinyurl.com/billeeto

DISCLAIMER: This program and the associated written materials are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended, and must not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances.