Defense attorney in Tupac murder trial believes jury had "preconceived notions" and didn't review all evidence

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Updated on: September 1, 2026 / 10:57 PM EDT

/ CBS News

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Michael Sanft, the defense attorney for Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1996 shooting death of Tupac Shakur on Monday, accused the jury of harboring "preconceived notions" about his client."I'm surprised. With the amount of evidence that should have been considered by the jury, I don't believe that they went through it," Sanft said in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, referring to the less than three hours the jury took to reach the guilty verdict. "My feeling is that they had preconceived notions, and those notions was what led to the conviction for Duane Davis."Nevada law does not require juries to deliberate for a set amount of time before reaching a verdict. When asked whether he had those same concerns about the jury's impartiality at the start of the trial, Sanft said there were "bigger issues" at the time and that he was mainly focused on various pre-trial motions concerning evidence that would be allowed.According to the prosecution, Davis procured the gun used to shoot Shakur and orchestrated the Sept. 6, 1996, Las Vegas drive-by in retaliation for the beating of Davis' nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, earlier that night. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal stated Davis was "hunting" for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight, who was also wounded in the shooting but survived."It is a slam-dunk, absolutely no defense to murder case," argued Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo in his closing statement.