Citing Lack of Funds, Attorney for C-Murder Asks to Withdraw from Case

Ron Rakosky, the attorney representing Corey Miller (a.k.a. C-Murder) in the retrial of his overturned murder conviction, has filed a motion to withdraw from the case due to Miller’s failure to pay him for “hundreds of hours” of legal work completed during the past three years. “Funding is a serious problem in this case,” Rakosky told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans.

Subject to home confinement while awaiting a new trial, Miller claims he has been unable to earn a steady income as a result of his legal woes and is thus unable to pay Rakosky. The former No Limit Records recording artist has even established the Corey Miller Innocence Fund to pay for his legal defense. However, his attempt at securing funding may have gotten him into even more trouble: prosecutors are now claiming that Miller violated a gag order by using the Fund website as “a vehicle to espouse his innocence and at the same time attack the Jefferson Parish judicial system,” according to a separate motion filed on Monday.

Judge Hans Liljeberg, who will hear arguments on the motions next week, cautioned Miller that the loss of Rakosky’s services could be detrimental to his cause. “He's done a great job for you,” Liljeberg reportedly told Miller. “You're doing yourself a great disservice by not having him sit next to you.”

Miller is accused of shooting and killing 16-year old Steve Thomas during a brawl at a Harvey, La., nightclub on January 12, 2002. He was initially convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, that conviction was overturned due to the prosecutor’s failure to inform defense attorneys about the criminal background of witnesses who testified against Miller. The start date of the new trial has been pushed back repeatedly, and is now scheduled for August 3.

Facing Murder Retrial, C-Murder Turns to Fans, Friends for Legal Expenses

With the retrial of his 2003 murder conviction scheduled to begin in exactly one week, Corey Miller, a.k.a. C-Murder, is taking an unusual approach to securing a proper legal defense.

The former No Limit Records recording artist has established the Corey Miller Innocence Fund, which asks family, friends and fans to donate $1,000 apiece to help underwrite his legal battle. Miller, the brother of hip hop mogul Percy Miller (a.k.a. Master P), has been on 24-hour home confinement while awaiting his retrial, a circumstance which he claims has rendered him unable to pay his legal fees.

Miller’s legal troubles stem from a 2002 incident at a nightclub in Harvey, Louisiana, in which he allegedly killed 16-year-old Steve Thomas with a single gunshot to the chest following an argument. In September 2003, Miller was convicted of second-degree murder and given a mandatory life sentence. However, just six months later, the judge in the case overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial, citing the prosecutor’s failure to inform Miller’s attorneys about the criminal background of witnesses who testified against Miller. Although an appeals court reversed the decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated the lower court’s ruling, ruling that the trial judge’s decision to grant a new trial “reflects a painstaking review of the evidence presented at trial and in the course of 13 post-conviction hearings, during which (she) became convinced that one of the state’s principal witnesses was ‘someone who is accustomed to lying.’”

Check back for more on the Corey Miller murder retrial in coming weeks.