Karmelo Anthony Seeks New Trial And Judge’s Removal

Anthony's defense team filed motions for a retrial and to recuse the judge, citing his public comments about the case.
The defense argues the trial was unconstitutionally closed to the public and that prosecutors used improper evidence.
Jury instructions allegedly made it difficult to consider self-defense, warranting a new trial.

Source: Karmelo Anthony / Collin County

Karmelo Anthony’s Defense team has filed new motions seeking a retrial and the judge’s removal from the case.

19-year-old Carmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison after being convicted for the murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet. As part of this case’s new appeal process, Anthony hired a new legal team, led by attorney Russell Wilson.

The group agreed to work pro bono on the case because Anthony said he had no money to pay for attorney fees while filing his appeals.

Anthony’s lawyers announced they have filed a verified motion to recuse, requesting that Collin County Judge John Roach be removed from overseeing any appeal efforts. His new defense team also filed a motion for a new trial, raising constitutional and legal challenges stemming from the trial.

According to a news release, it was requested that an independent judge decide those issues.

Anthony’s lawyers say that Judge Roach made comments to news reports following the trial, expressing his personal opinions about the jury’s verdict in the karmelo anthony trial. When asked by a reporter if the jury got it right, Judge Roach replied with “Yeah, they did,” then reportedly explained himself and talked about his ruling.

One of the main rulings that was talked about was the dismissal of three black potential jurors. In which Judge Roach responded to reporters that he “followed the law in that case” and “did it to a T,” that he was “proud of that.” Though he says in the back of his mind he knew what the perception was going to be, he wasn’t here to satisfy perceptions .

Another big question about this case was allowing cameras in the courtroom; Judge Roach gave a statement about that, saying, “I understood the public’s desire to know what happened in the courtroom. The overwhelming focus on my ruling regarding the media in the courtroom was to protect the process, witnesses, and jury. Now that the trial is over, it is important to me to provide transparency.”
Karmelo’s defense team argued that the judge’s personal views would suggest his probable decision on a motion for a new trial.

In the request for a retrial, the defense does not argue that Anthony is innocent; they instead argue that his constitutional rights were violated. The 63-page motion makes 4 main arguments.

It points to the fact that the trial was closed off to the public, with no media cameras allowed in the courtroom and only 27 seats available to the public; the motion also claims the violation of anthonys 6th amendment of right to a public trial. Defense claims that prosecutors did not honor an off-the-record evidentiary argument that kept character and extraneous-act evidence out of the trial. On the final day of testimony, prosecutors asserted that the argument would not cover Anthony’s testimony. This forced him to choose between testifying and exposing himself to damaging evidence.

Another point raised was about jury instructions.

The legal team claims that the instructions were constructed in a way that made it difficult for a jury to consider karmelo acting in self-defense.

The motion lastly claims that the cumulative effect of all these alleged errors warrants a new trial.

There was no evidence that the two young boys knew each other. Anthony has since been transported to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where he was transported to his assigned unit at the Pack Unit near Navasota.

SEE ALSO

Karmelo Anthony Seeks New Trial And Judge’s Removal was originally published on thebeatdfw.com