Aaron Hernandez Attorneys Must Hand Over Cell Phone: Supreme Court

The state's highest court ruled against Aaron Hernandez Friday, ordering the former New England Patriot's legal team to hand over a cell phone prosecutors believe could lead to his conviction on a second set of murder charges.

Earlier this week, the court set Feb. 13, 2017 as the start date for the former tight end's double murder trial. Hernandez is accused of murdering Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston’s South End in 2012.

Hernandez, who is is currently serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, will be represented by Attorney Jose Baez, best known for defending Casey Anthony.

Baez and the rest of the Hernandez legal team lost in a legal skirmish Friday, when the state's Supreme Judicial Court order that they turn over their client's cell phone.

The decision read in part, Hernandez “no longer requires possession of [the defendant’s cell phone, which may contain evidence in his pending prosecution] for the provision of legal advice to the defendant. In such circumstances, the continued retention of this device can only be understood as having the effect of concealing or removing it from the observation of others, namely the Commonwealth.”

According to the court order, a witness alleged that in February of 2013, Hernandez shot him in the head. According to the order, that witness said that afterward, "he communicated with [Hernandez] on multiple occasions between February 14, 2013, and June, 2013, either by calling the defendant or sending him text messages on his cellular telephone. During these conversations, [the witness] threatened to sue the defendant and to publicly expose his violent behavior."

Hernandez reportedly handed his phone over to attorneys in order to get their legal advice in June 2013. The state has been seeking access to the device since March 2014. You can read the court order in full here.

In light of the order, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley weighed in Friday, issuing a supportive statement via press release.

“The SJC’s decision is grounded in the law and in common sense. No court or legislature ever intended that critical evidence could be placed beyond the reach of investigators, in perpetuity, simply by providing it to an attorney," he said. "We have already begun the process of seeking a search warrant to obtain the phone for analysis by our Computer Crime Lab.”

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