Court Denies Tory Lanez’s Habeas Petitions and New Evidentiary Hearing, Main Appeal Gets Oral Argument

The Canada-born rapper’s latest attempt for an appeal of his conviction relating to the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.

Tory Lanez's legal team will take to the courtroom again on August 28 to do an oral argument regarding one of his petitions.

Tory Lanez’s appeals to submit new evidence regarding his 2022 conviction has been denied by a California appellate court.

A three-judge panel, consisting of Judges Lee Smalley Edmon, Anne H. Egerton and Rashida A. Adams, denied two petitions that sought a new sentencing based on new evidence. According to Legal Affairs and Trials with Meghann Cuniff, the three-judge panel has yet to decide on the main appeal. The decision is scheduled for oral argument on Monday (Aug. 18).

In the main appeal, Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, argues that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David V. Herriford shouldn’t have allowed the prosecution to use one of his comments on Instagram as evidence, Meghann Cuniff reports. The comment in question was “that’s not true,” which was in response to another comment that said Harris was the shooter.

Another argument in the appeal stems from a recorded interview Kelsey Harris, Megan Thee Stallion’s former friend, gave before the trial. Harris described the shooting and identified Peterson as the shooter, though Peterson’s attorney implied that prosecutors pressured Harris to implicate Peterson.

Tory Lanez was moved from his original prison due to a fellow inmate stabbing him (Getty Images)

The first petition revolved around a new statement from Peterson’s driver, Jauquan Smith, who drove Peterson, Megan Thee Stallion, real name Megan Pete, and Harris from Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home. According to the recent appellate order, Smith’s statements were inadmissible as they didn’t comply with the California Code of Civil Procedure. 

Smith appeared at the courthouse during the 2022 trial, wanting to testify as a defense witness. The prosecution wanted more time to prepare for the unexpected testimony, though Peterson’s lawyer, George Mgdesyan, didn’t summon Smith due to the upcoming holidays. Mgdesyan feared that delaying the trial any further would lead to a mistrial.

Deputy Attorney General Michael C. Keller cited statements Mgdesyan made during trial sidebars and chambers meetings. Mgdesyan “acknowledged that he had spoken with Smith regarding his observations and determined that Smith would not be a helpful witness.”

The appellate court order also discusses the DNA found on the 9mm semiautomatic handgun used in the shooting. 

Investigators found gunshot residue on both Peterson and Harris, though they never took DNA samples from Harris. Prosecutors argued that it didn’t matter as criminalist Randy Zepeda of the Los Angeles Police Department determined that a male contributed to 90 percent of the DNA found on the gun.

Peterson’s habeas petition argued that the jury should have heard it was “marginally more likely a random member of the Black community contributed to [the mixture of DNA found on the gun] than Petitioner contributed thereto.” 

The appellate court order notes that Peterson is saying that “his own DNA expert failed to provide industry-accepted methodology.” Plus, he wasn’t able to provide any evidence that would support his stance.

Crystal Morgan, the lead attorney of Peterson’s appeal, originally filed the second habeas petition in October of last year. In this petition, Morgan alleged she couldn’t test the firearm used in the shooting for DNA because LAPD no longer had it. 

On Nov. 19, the Attorney General’s Office filed a declaration from an LAPD senior property manager, essentially stating that Morgan’s claims were untrue.

The firearm, magazine “and all the bullet casings and the bullet fragments that were booked … are still in the Los Angeles Police Department’s custody,” according to the LAPD senior property manager.

Morgan later amended her original petition to include a statement from Bradley James, Harris’ former bodyguard. James served as Harris’ bodyguard during the trial, and he allegedly heard her say things that contradicted her trial testimony.

According to James, Harris said she shot the gun in the air three times. Peterson then grabbed her arm and pushed it down, leading to the gun firing twice more. His statement was dated for Aug. 28, 2024, leading to confusion as to why it wasn’t submitted until July 2025.

The appellate court expressed their confusion, stating that Peterson “offers no explanation for why this document executed 11 months ago wasn’t submitted until July 30, 2025, on the eve of the oral argument, or why it was not raised in his successive writ petition filed October 23, 2024.”

The order does allow for one of Peterson’s requests: his motion seeking California statistics regarding the number of people charged with first-degree assault who did or did not receive a gun-related sentencing enhancement. Peterson is also seeking information about charges, conviction rates, and lengths of sentences for celebrities of all races.

According to the motion, he’s entitled to the information under California’s 2020 Racial Justice Act.

Peterson has been in custody since his Dec. 23, 2022 conviction, currently staying in California’s Colony Prison. The 33-year-old rapper was moved to the facility after a fellow inmate stabbed him 14 times during his time at California Correctional Institution. Peterson’s lungs collapsed as a result of the stabbing.

Times Entertainment on YouTube posted CCTV footage of an inmate stabbing Tory Lanez 14 times.

For the oral arguments on Monday, Crystal Morgan will spearhead the hearing on Peterson’s behalf. The 2nd District Court of Appeals will stream the hearing on its website, plus Meghann Cuniff will stream the hearing on her YouTube as well. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. PST.