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Jonathan Majors's assault trial began on Wednesday at the New York City Criminal Court, Variety reported.
Jury selection for the trial, which went through many delays, is supposed to start in the late afternoon.
Majors, who arrived carrying a bible, a notebook and a mug, was hand in hand with girlfriend Meagan Good. Good has attended several of the actor's court appearances.
The MCU actor was arrested on March 25 after a reported domestic quarrel with then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Majors was charged with four counts of assault and aggravated harassment. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail.
The defense's motion to request that “contested evidence” be barred from public view and remain under seal took up most of the morning. Majors' side reason to do this was due to the “high profile” nature of the case.
Members of the media have filed a motion against this ruling, which only applies to one pre-trial issue and not the whole trial.
Majors' lawyer Seth Zuckerman told Judge Michael Gaffey that he believed disclosing sensitive information will “deprive” his client the right to a fair trial.
“There are no alternatives,” he insisted, and said that he believes the information they were petitioning to have sealed would “have a highly prejudicial impact on the jury no matter what.”
The media members' lawyer, Katherine M. Bolger, said that she didn't know what was in the sealed information. However, she argued that the press, on behalf of the public, should have access.
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“We urge you to reject this. For any closure, there needs to be on-the-record filings,” she said to Judge Gaffey.
However, the judge moved to seal the documents as well as the hearing. He said that it's “the only way to prevent tainting the jury pool.” The information can be unsealed if whatever in it is found to be admissible for trial.
Gaffey told Majors that he's under no obligation to testify in the trial, but it will still proceed with or without his appearance in court.
The case has been drawn out due to the conflicting issues at hand. While Majors is the one on trial, his accuser Jabbari was arrested but not charged on suspicion of misdemeanor assault. The Manhattan District Attorney's office decided not to prosecute the case against her because it lacked “prosecutorial merit.”
In the wake of the allegations, Jonathan Majors has been cut off from his previously starring role as the MCU's main villain Kang, as well as his Disney film project Magazine Dreams pulled from release.
