Pras
Michel
is
currently
battling
charges
of
working
as
a
secret
agent
for
the
Chinese
government,
which
could
land
the
Fugees
star
several
years
behind
bars.
However,
after
a
mid-month
special
hearing,
Pras
Michel
might
have
a
glimmer
of
hope
that
a
retrial
is
underway
as
he
awaits
sentencing.
In
a
new
article
from
Vulture,
it
was
revealed
that
Judge
Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly
oversaw
a
three-day
hearing
for
Pras
Michel
and
his
new
legal
team
to
present
a
series
of
questions
to
the
rapper’s
former
attorney,
David
Kenner.
Michel
is
accusing
Kenner
of
dialing
it
in
while
representing
Michel,
including
a
claim
that
the
attorney
used
AI
to
write
a
closing
statement.
Kenner,
despite
it
all,
says
he
tried
his
best
to
get
Michel
cleared
of
the
charges
and
even
supported
his
former
client’s
hopes
of
gaining
a
retrial.
“I’m
on
Team
Pras,”
Kenner
said
on
the
witness
stand
during
the
hearing
earlier
this
month.
“I
did
not
think
he
should
have
been
convicted.
I
hope
he
is
granted
the
retrial
he
seeks.”
The
hearing
revealed
that
Kenner,
81,
hired
a
medical
malpractice
lawyer
to
oversee
the
matter
but
that
the
gentlemen
refused
to
attend
any
of
the
trial
happenings
due
to
not
wanting
to
leave
his
pit
bulls
at
home
in
Minneapolis.
Instead,
the
attorney
told
the
outlet
that
his
dogs
are
aggressive
and
said
that
he’d
be
able
to
perform
his
tasks
from
home.
The
fact
that
the
judge
overseeing
the
matter
called
this
hearing
suggests
there
is
some
credence
to
Michel’s
new
claims
that
Kenner
did
not
represent
his
client
correctly
and
possibly
violated
his
constitutional
rights.
“She’s
a
careful
and
smart
and
fair
judge,”
Paul
Pelletier,
a
former
Justice
Department
prosecutor,
shared
with
Vulture.
“Calling
this
hearing
was
the
fair
thing
to
do,
given
what
she
observed
during
trial.”
Kenner
found
fame
after
defending
the
likes
of
Suge
Knight,
Snoop
Dog,
and
the
late
Tupac
“2Pac”
Shakur.
Kenner
was
able
to
get
Snoop
Dogg
acquitted
of
murder
charges
in
1996.
It
should
be
noted
that
beyond
Kenner’s
Hip-Hop
credentials,
he
is
an
attorney
of
considerable
notoriety
but
it
appears
that
his
health
and
unorthodox
methods
were
a
bad
cocktail
for
Michel
and
his
legal
needs.
Pras
Michel
isn’t
out
of
the
woods
yet
as
the
judge
is
still
set
to
issue
a
ruling
at
a
later
time
but
it
isn’t
readily
known
which
way
the
pendulum
will
swing.
UPDATE:
Erica
Dumas,
the
spokesperson
for
Pras
Michel,
shared
details
with
us
that
David
Kenner
pleaded
guilty
today
to
a
contempt
of
court
charge
for
leaking
confidential
federal
grand
jury
files
to
two
reporters
in
2023.
“Unfortunately,
former
attorney
David
Kenner
failed
at
every
turn
to
competently
represent
Pras
over
the
course
of
this
lengthy
legal
battle.”
Erica
Dumas,
Spokesperson
for
Pras
Michel.
—
Photo:
Tasos
Katopodis
/
Getty
