Jonathan Majors assault and harassment trial: what happened on day one of Marvel star’s court case in New York

Marvel star Jonathan Majors’ long delayed trial over misdemeanour charges of assault and harassment against his then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in March began on Wednesday (November 29).

Majors, who plays Kang the Conqueror in Loki and is set to appear in major upcoming MCU films, faces up to a year behind bars if convicted of the charges, which he denies. The charges step from an incident on March 25 when police attended an incident after Majors called 911 himself.

They found Jabbari with bruising, swelling, lacerations and a broken finger, and arrested Majors who was later released and ordered not to contact Jabbari. The actor has been dropped by his talent agency and his future in the MCU is in doubt pending the outcome of the trial.

What happened at the Jonathan Majors trial?

Before the public trial proceedings got under way, a closed hearing was held to discuss evidence that remains under seal that the defence wants to keep out of the public trial because it could be prejudicial and inflammatory. Judge Michael Gaffey will decide today whether the evidence will be admitted.

Following the private hearing, the first day of the trial at the Manhattan court was mainly focused on jury selection. There were 40 candidates for the jury, and they will be whittled down to six with at least one alternated to sit throughout the trial and hear the evidence in Majors’ case.

Judge Gaffey swore in the jury pool members, told them the name of the defendant and explained that they cannot discuss the case or research it online in any form. He then sent them home, telling them to return to the court at 10am local time on Thursday (4pm BST).

Gaffney then told the lawyers involved in the case that when they question potential jurors during selection, they cannot refer to Jabbari or Majors as a ‘victim’.

This brought the first day of proceedings to an end, with the trial still yet to get properly underway. Majors left the court through a side door and did not speak to any media as he left.

What will happen in the rest of the Jonathan Majors trial?

The crucial next step in the trial is for prosecution and defence lawyers to question the jury, a process known as voir dire. At this stage six jurors and at least one alternate will be selected from the potential pool of 40.

The general structure of the trial will feature opening statements followed by the plaintiff’s evidence (Grace Jabbari is expected to testify at this point), the defence’s evidence, before closing arguments are made. The jury will then weigh the evidence and come to a verdict.

It is unclear how long the trial will last, but Majors’ team stated that they plan to call on 14 witnesses over six days, so it is likely to be longer than a week. It is not yet known if Majors intends to testify himself.