Atlantic City's mayor goes on trial this week.
Marty Small along with his wife, Superintendent Dr. La'Quetta Small, are accused of abusing their teenage daughter.
The mayor is going on trial first, with accusations that include beating the then-16-year-old unconscious with a broom, and later telling her to change her story about it to investigators.
As jury selection begins Tuesday, here are some things to know about the case.
A large police presence at the home of Atlantic City's first family garnered attention March 28, 2024, when the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office served a search warrant on the same day the office announced criminal charges against Atlantic City High School Principal Constance Days-Chapman.
She failed to report an unnamed student's claims of parental abuse, and instead went to the teen's parents, the charges stated without naming the family.
BreakingAC was the first to report the connection, after previously learning there was a Division of Child Protection and Permanency investigation into the Smalls' home.
A news conference the whole family attended with the mayor's longtime attorney, Ed Jacobs, and a subsequent rally in support of the Smalls confirmed things before charges came that April.
The raid wasn't the first time some were hearing of trouble brewing in the Smalls' home.
Allegations first came out via social media from the alleged victim's then-boyfriend, now a star witness in the case.
There were mentions of both mental and physical abuse and, while Marty and La'Quetta Small were not named, the identity of the teen's targets were clear: “(H)ow could (you) abuse (your) daughter and (you’re) mayor and superintendent. (The) good family?"
He even referenced the mayor's catch phrase, adding that "(you) call her all types of names then go to the city and say great day? (You) do anything for an image a picture (portraying) someone (you’re) not.”
Social media posts were not the boyfriend's only contributions to the case.
The teen — identified in court papers only as E.L. due to his age at the time — was on calls with the Smalls' daughter during some of the alleged abuse. He also was recording on an iPad given to him by the teenage girl.
“I’m going to earth slam her down the steps!” the mayor is heard saying in one recording, according to the transcript. “Come past this line and I’m gonna grab you by the head and throw you on the ground! Nothing is going to happen to me!”
The daughter would make sure E.L. could hear what was going on and, at times, turned her phone facedown so that her parents would not know the call was ongoing, the teenager testified during a hearing on a defense motion to get the recordings thrown out.
The motion was denied, clearing the way for them to be played at this week's trial.
A tort claim filed on the boy's behalf last year also alleges the Smalls attempted to confiscate and destroy evidence by trying to get the iPad.
Just days before a grand jury indicted the Smalls, the mayor allegedly went to his daughter and asked her "to do him a favor and 'twist up' the story she previously told police about alleged abuse allegations," according to a second indictment charging witness tampering.
Small allegedly wanted her to recant the claim that he had beaten her with a broom, and instead told the girl to say she tripped and fell in her room.
But Small's attorney, Jordan Barbone, said that his client only was instructing his daughter to tell the truth.
"A father who explains to his child the value of being truthful is only 'guilty' of good parenting, not witness tampering," Barbone wrote in a statement given to media at the time.
The Smalls were charged together, but their trials will be separate.
Dr. La'Quetta Small's attorney successfully argued that the allegations against each are too different to make it a fair trial for his client.
The cases were officially severed in June.
Dr. Small faces just one count of endangering for what her attorney, Michael Schreiber, argued was allegedly seconds of physical contact during a three-minute verbal argument.
Small's overwhelming re-election win last month was on a campaign led by his longtime campaign manager, Days-Chapman, who he said stuck with the family despite being "in this nonsense because of my daughter," he said during his victory speech.
"I wouldn't want no other person leading this but Mandy," he said, using Days-Chapman's nickname.
The mayor has continually insisted his supporters would not waiver. That seemed to continue on the eve of his trial, after he posted a thank you on Facebook and said he would let everyone know when they could attend court. 
Mayor says no to plea
"Absolutely not," the mayor said of a plea deal that would have him do no jail time, but require he never again serve in public office.
A plea offer to his wife was for a five-year prison sentence with no minimum amount of time served required.
The mayor could face 25 years in prison if convicted, the judge warned him in court at the time of the plea discussions.
Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury had dealt with the case since the beginning, holding hearings and ruling on several motions in the more than a year since the charges were filed.
Then, the head of the criminal courts retired.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Levin has taken over.
While Levin worked as an associate at the law firm representing Small, it was more than 25 years ago and is not considered a conflict by either side.
As the trial begins, there still are several motions to be decided.
Levin said at the pretrial conference last month that he expected to have most of the motions decided before opening statements, likely after the jury is chosen.
Any pending motions after that could be decided as the issues come up during trial
One pending motion involves transcripts from the juvenile criminal trial of one of the state's main witnesses.
E.L. had a criminal trial on allegations that he stole the mayor's credit card information.
Details were not available due to the protections of juvenile court.
But BreakingAC did confirm that focus is on the mayor's testimony in that case.
Superior Court Judge Michelle Perry-Thompson had a hearing on those transcripts last week, ruling in favor of the state. But how that is used remains an unanswered question.
While the trial is open to the public, no cameras will be allowed.
The media was told no one would be approved for either video or still shots for the entire trial.
This is a precaution due to the nature of the case, and that protected minors are expected to testify.
While both the mayor's daughter and E.L. are now 18, they were juveniles at the time of the events of the case.
