UPDATED 12/8, 5:09 p.m. ET: In an afternoon court hearing, Terry Rozier's attorney James Trusty said that he was preparing a motion to dismiss the case against the NBA star. Trusty said the case has been "professionally devastating" to Rozier, who is currently not being paid by the NBA and is set to engage in arbitration with the league later this month.
His motion, Trusty explained, would be limited to the law, and not the facts of the case. It would present "a serious constitutional challenge to the indictment itself."
The attorney seemed to indicate that his motion would be based around a 2023 Supreme Court case, Ciminelli vs. United States, et. al. That decision narrowed the scope of wire fraud statutes in federal cases.
After the hearing, Trusty told reporters that while he was willing to demonstrate his client's "factual innocence," his more pressing concerns had to do with the law.
"We're excited about litigating a legal motion about legal innocence," he said.
Rozier and the rest of the defendants in the case will return to court on Mar. 3 for a follow-up hearing.
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Miami Heat player Terry Rozier has made his first appearance in court since his October arrest in an NBA gambling scandal.
Rozier, wearing a grey suit, a white dress shirt, and black shoes, and with a diamond earring in each ear, appeared in Brooklyn federal court before Magistrate Judge Clay Kaminsky on Monday (Dec. 8) to plead not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The NBA star was released on a $3 million bond package secured by his residence in Florida. While awaiting trial, he will be prohibited from gambling, and needs approval to transfer money in amounts greater than $10,000, except for legal fees.
Rozier's childhood friend De'Niro Laster, also charged in the case, appeared in court as well on Monday. He was released on a $50,000 bond package secured by his mother and his cousin.
Rozier, Laster, and the other defendants in the case are accused of obtaining and using non-public NBA information in order to bet on games. In Rozier's case, he's accused of telling Laster that he was going to leave a March 23, 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans early, so that Laster could sell that information to other defendants who could then place bets using it. Laster allegedly planned to sell the information for $100,000.
During that game, Rozier pulled himself off the court after only nine and a half minutes.
Rozier, Laster, and the other defendants in the case, including Damon Jones, appeared at a separate status conference for the case later on Monday afternoon. Jones, a former NBA player and coach, is accused similarly of passing on non-public information about NBA players for betting purposes, including about LeBron James. James is not charged in the case, and is not accused of any knowledge of Jones' actions or of any other wrongdoing.