<\/p>\n
Karmelo Anthony\u2019s new legal team is accusing the judge who presided over his murder trial of bias and arguing courtroom restrictions violated his cons\u0442\u03b9\u0442utional right to a public trial in a pair of post-conviction motions seeking to overturn his conviction.<\/p>\n
According to court filings reviewed by\u00a0FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, Anthony\u2019s defense team asks that Collin County Judge John Roach recuse himself from all remaining post-trial proceedings while also requesting a new trial based on what the defense describes as cons\u0442\u03b9\u0442utional and legal errors during Anthony\u2019s prosecution.<\/p>\n
Anthony, 19, was\u00a0convicted of murdering\u00a017-year-old Austin Metcalf after fatally stabbing him during an altercation at a Frisco track meet. A Collin County jury sentenced him to 35 years in prison.<\/p>\n
The motions are the first major filings by Anthony\u2019s new legal team, led by attorney Russell Wilson, who previously agreed to represent Anthony pro bono during\u00a0the appeals process.<\/p>\n
Fox News Digital reached out to Wilson\u2019s office for comment. A representative said Wilson is not commenting on the case at this time.<\/p>\n
Judge John Roach is depicted in a courtroom sketch during the Karmelo Anthony murder trial.<\/p>\n
In a news release obtained by FOX 4, the defense said it filed a verified motion to recuse Roach, arguing his public comments following the trial created the appearance that he could not impartially rule on Anthony\u2019s post-trial motions.<\/p>\n
Karmelo Anthony is pictured after being transferred to the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He was transported to his unit of \u1d00ssignment at the Pack Unit near Navasota.<\/p>\n
According to the motion, Roach told reporters after the verdict that the jury \u201cgot it right\u201d and defended several of his rulings during the trial, including his decision to dismiss three Black prospective jurors and his handling of courtroom access.<\/p>\n
The defense argues those statements create an appearance that the judge cannot fairly consider Anthony\u2019s request for a new trial.<\/p>\n
The accompanying 63-page\u00a0motion for a new trial\u00a0focuses on alleged cons\u0442\u03b9\u0442utional violations rather than Anthony\u2019s guilt or innocence.<\/p>\n
17-year-old Austin Metcalf was killed during a fatal altercation at a track meet in Frisco, Texas.<\/p>\n
Among its central claims, the defense argues Anthony\u2019s\u00a0Sixth Amendment right\u00a0to a public trial was violated because cameras were barred from the courtroom and only 27 seats were available to members of the public during the proceedings.<\/p>\n
The attorneys also argue prosecutors failed to honor an off-the-record evidentiary agreement regarding character and extraneous-act evidence, forcing Anthony to choose between testifying and exposing himself to prejudicial information.<\/p>\n
The motion further challenges the jury instructions, claiming they made it more difficult for jurors to fully consider\u00a0Anthony\u2019s self-defense argument.<\/p>\n
The defense contends the cumulative effect of those alleged errors deprived Anthony of a fair trial and warrants a new one.<\/p>\n
Following the trial, Roach defended his decision to prohibit cameras from the courtroom, telling Fox News at the time, the restrictions were intended to protect the judicial process, witnesses and jurors while promising greater transparency after the proceedings concluded.<\/p>\n
Under Texas law, Roach is expected to refer\u00a0the recusal motion\u00a0to a regional administrative judge, who will decide whether a hearing on the request is necessary.<\/p>\n
Fox News Digital requested copies of the filings from the Collin County Deputy County Administrator and separately sought comment from Roach\u2019s office. Neither immediately responded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karmelo Anthony\u2019s new legal team is accusing the judge who presided over his murder trial of bias and arguing courtroom restrictions violated his cons\u0442\u03b9\u0442utional right to a public trial … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14624,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14622\/revisions\/14624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}