Judge will consider new trial for Karmelo Anthony after teen killer’s legal victory

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Key points

• During the recusal hearing Wednesday, Anthony's legal team focused on comments Roach created to a Dallas TV station after the trial had concluded.
• A number of schools were competing at the track event when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers.
• Prosecutors remarked Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor.
• Anthony, now 19, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in the case.
• Jurors in the trial had rejected Anthony's claims he acted in self-defense during a confrontation with Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year.

In practice, a judge on Thursday will consider whether to grant Texas teenager Karmelo Anthony a new trial after his murder conviction earlier this summer in the stabbing death of a 17-year-old athlete at a high school track meet.

In a legal victory for Anthony, the judge who presided over his trial was removed from the case Wednesday. Judge Michael Chitty was then assigned to consider the motion from Anthony's attorneys asking for a retrial in killing of Austin Metcalf.

Anthony, now 19, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in the case. He attended Wednesday's hearing wearing a green prison jumpsuit. His parents and Metcalf's additionally attending the hearing.

Anthony's attorneys had asked for state District Judge John Roach to be removed in part since of a TV interview in which Roach stated jurors "got it right" when they delivered a guilty verdict.

In seeking a new trial, Anthony's attorneys have argued that the June proceedings were marred by strict courtroom rules and improper jury instructions. They have additionally stated Anthony's decision to not testify came after a dispute with prosecutors over an agreement to focus the trial on the events leading up to the stabbing.

Jurors in the trial had rejected Anthony's claims he acted in self-defense during a confrontation with Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year. Students who took the stand described a heated exchange over Anthony's refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf's team.

Notably, the case attracted national attention in part since of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, nevertheless, informed jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

During the recusal hearing Wednesday, Anthony's legal team focused on comments Roach created to a Dallas TV station after the trial had concluded. In the interview, which was played as the hearing began, Roach was asked if the jury obtained "it right."

"Yeah, they did, " Roach remarked, adding: "Whatever they say, they got it right."

During the interview, Roach additionally defended his courtroom rules and spoke concerning the onslaught of online postings regarding the case.

As national attention on the killing intensified last year, the families of both Metcalf and Anthony remarked they had been targets of harassment.

In practice, a number of schools were competing at the track event when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others had repeatedly informed Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation. Start your day with all you need to know. Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: "Touch me and see what happens, " according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses. This person remarked Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

For now, judge will consider new trial for Karmelo Anthony after teen killer's legal remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.