Just weeks after lawyers asked a federal judge to release rapper YNW Melly from prison, they are now demanding that Broward Sheriff’s Office attorneys be removed from the case.

YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of shooting two friends in 2018. He has been in custody since his arrest in February 2019. His first murder trial in 2023 ended in a mistrial.

The latest filing alleges that BSO’s attorney was involved and aware of violations of Demons’ constitutional rights while in custody. It said: “Not allowing Demons to meet with his lawyers and banning him from visiting his family for years violates his rights.”

“We are asking the judge today to disqualify all Broward Sheriff’s Office attorneys because we believe they will be witnesses in the case,” said Michael Pizzi, Demons’ defense attorney. “We believe they were either involved in putting these restrictions in place or did nothing to stop them, and that’s what they should have done.”

“Demons is subject to administrative segregation at the jail because placement in the general population poses a serious threat to the safety of staff or inmates, life or property,” the Broward Sheriff’s Office told NBC6.

“There is never any justification for preventing anyone from meeting with their attorneys to prepare for a case,” Pizzi said. “And there is absolutely no justification on this planet for the despicable act of not allowing him to have a phone call.”

BSO has until Monday to respond to a federal judge about the alleged violations of constitutional rights.

Demons’ first double murder trial ended in a mistrial in July 2023. A retrial was delayed when the prosecutor appealed a judge’s decision on a motion to suppress evidence.

Demons’ second double murder trial is scheduled for September next year.