In 2008 a New Jersey drug dealer and aspiring rapper named Vonte Skinner was tried in the attempted murder of Lamont Peterson, a fellow dealer who had fallen out of favor with Skinner’s boss. When he ...

NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey man whose rap lyrics boasted he would "blow your face off and leave your brain caved in the street" will have his attempted murder case considered by the state's Supreme ...

The state Supreme Court ruled 6-0 that violent rap lyrics can't be used as evidence of guilt unless they have a "strong nexus" to the underlying crime being charged. (Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger) ...

TRENTON, N.J. - Violent rap lyrics written by a man accused of shooting a fellow drug dealer in 2005 should not have been admitted as evidence at his trial, New Jersey's highest court ruled Monday.

The state Supreme Court is shown during oral arguments in November 2013. Today the justices asked dozens of questions about rap lyrics that were used as evidence of a 2005 murder. (Patti Sapone/The ...