{"id":2376,"date":"2026-07-07T20:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376"},"modified":"2026-07-07T20:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:43:14","slug":"attorneys-for-karmelo-anthony-appeal-his-murder-conviction-in-track-meet-stabbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376","title":{"rendered":"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony filed an appeal Tuesday and requested a new trial for the former student-athlete convicted in the fatal stabbing of another student at a Texas track meet. <\/p>\n

Read more IOC eases path toward Russia returning with full team at 2028 LA Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n

A jury sentenced 17-year-old Anthony to 35 years in prison after convicting him last month of the murder of Austin Metcalf, also 17, at a meet in Frisco, Texas, a Dallas bedroom community. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Anthony\u2019s new attorneys, who did not represent him at the trial, said in their filings that the court erred when it restricted public access to the trial, violating Anthony\u2019s rights. <\/p>\n

They also appealed on the grounds that the state and defense had an unwritten agreement to exclude certain character and \u201cextraneous-offense\u201d evidence from the trial, but that prosecutors repudiated the agreement, which denied Anthony the right to testify on his own behalf. <\/p>\n

The attorneys criticized the speed at which the judge conducted the trial, including a court date on a Saturday when several defense witnesses were unavailable. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the moment came for the Defendant to make the most consequential decision of the trial, whether to waive his Fifth Amendment privilege and testify, the Court allotted the defense ten minutes to counsel a nineteen-year-old through it and denied counsel\u2019s request for additional time,\u201d the attorneys stated. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

In a separate filing, the attorneys demanded that state District Court Judge John Roach be removed from the case because he gave an interview after the trial to Dallas TV station WFAA and expressed personal opinions about the jury\u2019s verdict, the fairness of the trial and correctness of his own rulings. <\/p>\n

The attorneys stated that, by participating in the interview, Roach violated the state\u2019s judicial conduct and standards code on appearance of objectivity. <\/p>\n

According to Anthony\u2019s attorneys, some of the judge\u2019s \u201cproblematic\u201d comments include agreeing to the correctness of the jury\u2019s verdict, saying \u201cwhatever they say … they get it right.\u201d Roach also commented on Anthony being \u201ca nice young man\u201d who \u201cunderstands today … the consequences of committing a crime like … he did.\u201d <\/p>\n

The attorneys stated in the recusal request that in the WFAA interview, the judge defended the selection of the jury, which did not include a single Black person, and that in a statement to Fox News, Roach defended his ruling on media access to the courtroom. <\/p>\n

Read more Lionel Messi leads Argentina to 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt and spot in World Cup quarterfinals<\/a><\/p>\n

Roach also wrote a signed public letter published in the website of Collin County, where the court and Frisco are located, that he addressed to the \u201cCollin County Family.\u201d In the letter, Roach refers to his work on the trial as \u201cone of the great honors of my judicial career\u201d and thanked those who worked to ensure the process was conducted fairly, Anthony\u2019s attorneys stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cA judge who publicly memorializes the trial as concluded, and publicly pronounces the process fair, while still holding the authority to grant a new trial, signals to the reasonable observer that he regards the matter as closed,\u201d the attorneys wrote in the filing. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Roach\u2019s comments, coupled with the fact that he imposed a gag order during the trial on any commentary by any other participants, \u201csharpens rather than softens the appearance that the Court no longer sits as a neutral arbiter of the post-trial proceedings that remain before it,\u201d the attorneys wrote. <\/p>\n

But while the judge has granted interviews and written about the trial, he has sealed the entire court file of the trial and has only allowed Anthony\u2019s attorneys to view it on condition they not share what was observed \u201cleaving the file only available in chambers,\u201d the attorneys stated, adding that they did not agree to the condition. <\/p>\n

Metcalf was fatally stabbed on April 2, 2025, as the track teams of Anthony\u2019s Centennial High School and Metcalf\u2019s Memorial High School participated in a districtwide meet in Frisco.<\/p>\n

Anthony admitted to the stabbing, but his legal team argued he acted in self-defense under the pressure of physical intimidation, after he sat in the bleachers under the tent of rival high school Memorial and was confronted by members of its track team and told to leave. Prosecutors rebutted that depiction of events, saying it was Anthony who threatened Metcalf.<\/p>\n

A high-profile group of appellate, civil rights and criminal defense attorneys teamed up to represent Anthony pro bono on his appeal soon after his conviction and sentencing. The case drew national attention because Metcalf was white and Anthony is Black, which drew heated debate on social media. <\/p>\n

The six attorneys of the legal team include former Dallas County prosecutor Russell Wilson; criminal defense attorney Michael Ware; attorney Gary Bledsoe, who also serves as Texas NAACP president; Brooke Cluse of Ben Crump law; Sean Daredia; and Justin A. Moore. <\/p>\n

Read more Who could replace Graham Platner as Maine\u2019s Democratic Senate nominee?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The attorneys say Karmelo Anthony, who was convicted last month in the fatal stabbing of fellow student athlete Austin Metcalf, was denied his constitutional rights and also asked that the judge who presided be removed from the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAttorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing - Trusted Moving Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The attorneys say Karmelo Anthony, who was convicted last month in the fatal stabbing of fellow student athlete Austin Metcalf, was denied his constitutional rights and also asked that the judge who presided be removed from the case.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trusted Moving Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T20:43:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa\"},\"headline\":\"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T20:43:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376\"},\"wordCount\":834,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"U.S. news\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376\",\"name\":\"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing - Trusted Moving Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T20:43:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=2376#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trusted Moving Group\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing - Trusted Moving Group","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing - Trusted Moving Group","og_description":"The attorneys say Karmelo Anthony, who was convicted last month in the fatal stabbing of fellow student athlete Austin Metcalf, was denied his constitutional rights and also asked that the judge who presided be removed from the case.","og_url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376","og_site_name":"Trusted Moving Group","article_published_time":"2026-07-07T20:43:14+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa"},"headline":"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing","datePublished":"2026-07-07T20:43:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376"},"wordCount":834,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp","articleSection":["U.S. news"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376","url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376","name":"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing - Trusted Moving Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-07T20:43:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ac9fd26b5f01f8919d32f4b679620694.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2376#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeal his murder conviction in track meet stabbing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/","name":"Trusted Moving Group","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com"],"url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}