With his life on the line, a defendant in Broward County was told in explicit terms this week that he has a tough decision to make.
His own lawyer is being investigated for criminal conduct directly related to her work as his attorney. If she’s charged, there could be a conflict of interest.
Attorneys for Jamell Demons, known publicly as rapper YNW Melly, are accusing the Broward State Attorney’s Office of interfering with his right to the best representation he can get. Prosecutors announced in court that one of Demons’ lead attorneys, Raven Liberty, was under investigation by the Broward Sheriff’s Office for alleged witness tampering, a charge faced by Demons and a co-defendant in connection with his upcoming retrial on double-murder charges.
It’s not unusual for prosecutors to accuse opposing counsel of skirting the line separating vigorous defense of their clients from illegal conduct, especially when it comes to encouraging defendants to commit perjury or witnesses to conveniently forget relevant facts, according to experts on both sides of criminal law.
But it is highly unusual for criminal investigations to sprout from such suspicions, and even more unusual for charges to be pursued.
Liberty has been a member of the Florida Bar since 2004 and has no history of misconduct. She is also licensed to practice in the federal court system. She was hired to defend Demons against allegations he shot and killed two fellow rappers after a late-night recording session in Fort Lauderdale.
Demons’ first trial ended in a hung jury in the summer of 2023. His retrial is tentatively scheduled to begin in September.
In court last week, Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein told Demons he would soon have a choice to make — keep Liberty knowing that criminal charges against her would give her a vested interest in selling him out, or find a new lawyer who can catch up with a double-murder case in eight months when the death penalty is a possible outcome.
Aside from what was said in court, neither the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which is conducting the investigation, nor the Broward State Attorney’s Office will comment on the ongoing investigation, including exactly how it started. Prosecutors disclosed the investigation to give Demons a chance to decide whether to replace his counsel.
Legal experts say the investigation raises issues most prosecutors seek to avoid.
“You try to stay away from it,” said former Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who is now in private practice. “You don’t want to interfere with a defendant’s right to a fair trial.”
Threatening to charge opposing counsel with a crime could be seen as an intimidation tactic that could backfire and create issues the defense can raise on appeal, said Jason B. Blank, president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “I’ve never seen this done in Broward before,” he said.
Aronberg couldn’t recall a single case of a defense lawyer getting charged with a crime during his tenure from 2012-2024.
“Statewide, it only happens in the most egregious cases,” he said. “We’ve considered Bar complaints, but even then I don’t recall ever filing one.”
Former Broward prosecutor Ken Padowitz said going after defense lawyers was like walking into a field of land mines.
“There are all kinds of questions about prosecutorial overreach, misconduct, and interference,” he said. “If they’re going to proceed with this, they should do so with caution. I expect that’s exactly what they’re doing.”
After his first trial, Demons was charged with witness tampering, accused of trying to get witnesses to change or forget what they knew about allegations he murdered Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams in October 2018. It is unclear whether the investigation into Liberty is directly related to those charges.
Padowitz said he would recommend the investigation and the criminal case, if one should arise, be handled by an outside prosecutor’s office to avoid the appearance that the defense is being targeted unfairly.
Calls to Liberty were not returned this week. Another lawyer on the defense team, Jamie Benjamin, described the investigation this week as an intimidation tactic.
“How is our client supposed to decide whether to change lawyers when they haven’t even told us what charges are even being considered against his lawyer?” he said. “This is not the way to prosecute a case.”
The State Attorney’s Office referred questions about the investigation to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which routinely does not comment on pending cases.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.