RUFUS – Federal prosecutor Charlie Donalds says Judge Mary Steinmen is set to deliver her ruling in what the prosecution calls an open and shut case on Monday. The court ruled that the evidence against Young would be valid and recognized by the court, which was a complete blow to the defense’s last chance at fighting the case.

Lawyers were attempting to get several pieces of evidence overturned in court, but Judge Steinman ruled that the evidence could be used. The defense’s excuse was that it was “obtained without out a search warrant,” however the Prosecution said it was voluntarily given to investigators with no outside influence, according to a police evidence collection affidavit.

“I can’t see any reason that this evidence is fruit of the poisonous tree when an affidavit was signed confirming that this footage was obtained through voluntarily means,” said Judge Mary Steinman. “This evidence will be admissible, and I order this trial to move forward.”

Steinman also ruled that evidence provided to the contrary of what was shown in the video was moot, as the court ruled that “video evidence appears full and complete,” and that “the video shows the defendant clearly and fully.”

According to the prosecution, Judge Steinman has issued that she plans to rule on the case on Monday, and her decision will be heavily watched by trial viewers. If she rules that he is guilty, which seems likely, she will likely be forced to sentence him to execution under the Anti-Political Violence Act that became law on September 1, 2026.

“We look forward to seeing justice served for the Cooke family and more specifically Joseph who was senselessly and brutally murdered,” said Charlie Donalds. “We can’t let political violence to rule by fear and we certainly, under the new law, will never allow political violence to stand in our country.”

The defense team did provide a statement to the press after the ruling and the announcement. The defense team said in prior statements at the start of the trial that if he was found guilty, they would fully appeal the ruling and push the decision to a federal appeals court.

Mavis Young is set to address the court Friday afternoon and will provide testimony about what he was doing the day Cooke was killed, and his defense team say they are hoping his alibi is strong enough to convince the judge of his innocence. The alibi is likely to fail seeing as there is video evidence of him entering the apartment and leaving it after a muzzle flash was seen.