Karmelo Anthony to appeal murder conviction in Frisco track meet stabbing
Karmelo Anthony and his legal team have filed a notice of appeal less than 24 hours after a jury found him guilty of murder in Austin Metcalf's fatal stabbing at a Frisco track meet last year, according to Collin County court records.
A jury in Collin County sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison on Tuesday. Jurors took two-and-a-half hours to reach the sentence.
Following the 35-year prison sentence, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said "justice was served" and praised jurors, prosecutors, witnesses and the family of Austin Metcalf.
Dallas appellate attorney David Coale, who has handled appeals for decades, said Anthony's team could have several strong arguments on appeal. But any appeal would not be about what the jury heard. It would center on whether this trial was handled correctly.
The Collin County Sheriff's Office said Anthony was transferred to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility on Wednesday, after spending one night in the Collin County Jail.
The sheriff's office said the process to transfer Anthony began early Wednesday morning and was "expedited."
What happens with an appeal?
The very first step of the appeal is to file a short document called a Notice of Appeal, according to appellate attorney Chad Ruback. That states that the parties intend to appeal and where they intend to appeal.
The case will be assigned to the 5th District Court of Appeals, which is in downtown Dallas. The 5th District Court of Appeals hears all cases from Dallas County, Collin County, and several other metropolitan counties.
The next step will be for the attorneys for Anthony to request that the Collin County District Clerk's Office send documents to the Court of Appeals. Also, Anthony's lawyers will request that the court reporter prepare a transcript addressing the facts of the case and any legal issues.
The defense likely will argue that there wasn't enough evidence to convict for murder, that the evidence simply doesn't support that jury verdict.
"It's really, really tough to convince the Court of Appeals to overturn a jury verdict once the jury has sat through and heard all the evidence," said Ruback. "It's entirely possible that the attorneys for Mr. Anthony could argue that maybe the trial court judge didn't let in some evidence that would have swayed the jury, that would have persuaded the jury to render a not guilty verdict, or a manslaughter verdict, for example."
The filing of a notice of appeal does not mean Anthony will receive a new trial. The appellate process can take months, and sometimes years, as higher courts review whether legal errors occurred that could have affected the case's outcome.
