This YNW Melly update follows YNW Bortlen’s plea deal in the case, which could yield key consequences for its outcome.

YNW Melly has been in prison for over six years, and he now might have a better chance of getting out of jail if acquitted of double murder. His first attempt ended in a mistrial for the alleged murder of YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy, and he just made a big change before his January 2027 retrial.

According to XXL, on Wednesday, (September 24), Judge Martin Fein approved the rapper’s request to replace his current years-long legal team with lawyers Drew Findling and Carey Haughwout in Broward County Court.

“This is what you want, right?” the judge asked, per NBC 6 Miami. “Ms. Haughwout and Mr. Findling to appear as your lawyers? You want all the other lawyers to be allowed to withdraw and have those two to be your lawyers going forward? That’s what you want me to do?”

“Yes sir,” the Florida MC reportedly responded. The reason he previously gave for wanting to let his legal team go is because his former lawyer Raven Liberty is under investigation for alleged witness tampering. “The fact of this conflict makes it impossible for both Mr. Demons and his current counsel to continue the representation,” the August motion read.

YNW Melly Trial Update

Other YNW Melly trial updates include the shocking plea deal of YNW Bortlen that reduced his potential sentence by decades and dropped first-degree murder charges connected to YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser’s passing. While this resulted in a lot of controversy, Bortlen and his legal team insist that his upcoming statement on what happened the night that all four of them were in a car together will not implicate anyone else.

Whether or not this is true, we still have to wait a long time to find out. It’s possible that some evidence reviews and other motions speed up the tentative January 2027 retrial date as reported by NBC 6 South Florida, but nothing is certain.

Elsewhere, YNW Melly’s reportedly harsh jail conditions have also resulted in legal action, but nothing that turned out in his favor. We will see what other significant updates emerge in the long lead-up to this retrial.