Jonathan Majors’s sentencing in his domestic-violence case was delayed until April 8, 2024, as the fallen Marvel star’s lawyers are pushing for the guilty verdict to be thrown out. Majors was originally scheduled to be sentenced on February 6, 2024.
Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment in his Manhattan domestic-violence case on December 18, 2023, following a three-week trial. The proceedings stemmed from an incident on March 25, 2023, involving Majors and his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Majors has maintained that he is innocent.
Majors appeared via video for the under-five-minute court proceeding. He sported a clay-colored sweater and seemed to be in good spirits. Before proceedings kicked off, his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, waved at him, as to test the video feed, and he waved back.
“The case will not go forward with sentencing today because the defendant has filed, and I will make it a part of the court papers, a motion to set aside the verdict,†Judge Michael Gaffey said. The prosecution has until March 5 to respond to the defense argument, and then Majors’s team has until March 12 to file their response. Gaffey said he would make a decision on the defense motion around early April.
During Majors’s trial, prosecutors said that he assaulted Jabbari after she learned that he was purportedly cheating on her. While they were en route to their Chelsea apartment following an outing in Brooklyn, according to Jabbari’s testimony, she saw a text message on his phone that effectively said, “Wish I was kissing you right now,†an apparent allusion to a D’Angelo song. Jabbari said she took the phone from him to see who had messaged. The prosecution claimed that Majors grabbed Jabbari’s right side, “prying Ms. Jabbari’s right middle finger off the phone, causing bruising, swelling, and substantial pain.†Prosecutors stated that Majors twisted Jabbari’s arm and struck her right ear, causing a cut.
The prosecution told jurors that Majors then took his cell and left the chauffeured SUV. Jabbari tried to leave as well but Majors “grabbed her, picked her up, and threw her back inside,†prosecutors said. Police arrested Majors hours after he returned to the then-couple’s apartment. A few months following his arrest, Majors filed a cross-complaint against Jabbari.
New York City police arrested Jabbari in October; prior to Majors’s arrest, prosecutors had said they wouldn’t charge her. As a result, prosecutors threw out the case right away.
Majors was tried on three misdemeanor counts and one violation involving Jabbari’s claims against him: two counts of third-degree assault (one reckless, one intentional), as well as one count of second-degree aggravated harassment, and another of second-degree harassment. These first three counts involved activity inside the car whereas the fourth, the violation, involves an incident outside the SUV.
Majors was convicted of reckless third-degree assault and second-degree harassment for the in-car assault and altercation outside the car. He faces a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail.