Texas Attorney and Hip-Hop Artists Challenge Use of Rap Lyrics in Dallas Death Penalty Sentencing

Filing marks latest chapter in national debate over the use of rap lyrics in criminal trials

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A coalition of artists, entertainers, music industry leaders and professors, including Grammy Award-winning rapper Killer Mike, Young Thug, T.I., Blackish star Anthony Anderson, and music executive Kevin Liles, have filed an amicus brief challenging the use of rap lyrics during the punishment phase of a Dallas County capital trial, arguing that prosecutors improperly relied on artistic expression to support a death sentence.

In total, the brief is supported by 30 artists and scholars, and six arts organizations.

Texas appellate attorney Chad Baruch of Johnston Tobey Baruch is lead counsel on the brief, with co-counsel (and amici) Professor Lucius T. Outlaw III of the Criminal Justice Clinic at Howard University School of Law. Professor Erik Nielson, one of America’s leading authorities on hip-hop culture, took the lead in the effort.

The brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the use of rap lyrics as evidence that a defendant poses a continuing threat to society, a determination Texas juries must make before imposing the death penalty. The filing contends that prosecutors used defendant James Broadnax’s artistic expression to stoke racial and anti-rap bias with the jury.

“Rap lyrics are creative expression,” said Mr. Baruch. “When prosecutors treat them as literal evidence of future violence, they invite jurors to decide a death-penalty case based on fear and stereotypes instead of the law.”

Listen to Mr. Baruch discuss the brief here.

The brief also argues that the absence of Mr. Broadnax’s lyrics from the guilt/innocence phase of the trial is, in effect, an admission by the state of its lack of relevance to the case. Mr. Broadnax is scheduled to be executed April 30.

According to the filing, prosecutors relied on Broadnax’s artistic expression to argue that his lyrics reflected a “master plan” for violent behavior and demonstrated that he posed a future danger.

According to the brief, allowing rap lyrics to be used in this way risks enabling prosecutors to capitalize on racial bias and misinterpretations of rap music in capital sentencing proceedings. The filing argues that such use of artistic expression represents a circumvention of constitutional protections and should not be permitted to stand.

The filing represents the latest development in a growing national debate over the courtroom use of rap lyrics. In 2015, Mr. Baruch authored a widely discussed amicus brief on the issue on behalf of a coalition of artists and scholars in another case. That earlier filing, often described as the “Hip-Hop Brief,” brought together what The New York Times described as “a glittering array of hip-hop stars.”

About Johnston Tobey Baruch

Johnston Tobey Baruch is a dynamic law practice based in Dallas. Its trial and appellate attorneys have a broad range of litigation, arbitration and appellate experience. They are pioneers in the handling of legal and accounting malpractice, investment fraud and business disputes. They also have an enviable track record with insurance bad faith matters, commercial litigation and fiduciary litigation, and civil, family and criminal appeals for many prominent Texas companies and individuals.