[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Minnesota Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Byron Smith murder appeal[/title][fusion_text]Friday, September 4th 2015
The Byron Smith appeal case had oral arguments Thursday at the Minnesota Supreme Court. The main issue brought up Thursday was about whether a pretrial hearing was improperly closed. That issue dominated the hourlong appeal that Byron Smith’s attorneys brought after Smith was convicted of first-degree murder for the Thanksgiving 2012 killings of Haile Kifer and Nick Brady. Six justices focused mainly on whether Morrison County District Court Judge Douglas Anderson improperly cleared the courtroom on the day of opening statements. During the closure, Anderson addressed Smith’s desire to call acquaintances of Kifer and Brady to talk about their participation in previous burglaries. Smith’s attorneys have said that jurors should have heard about those previous burglaries to help understand Smith’s state of mind when he shot Kifer and Brady. Anderson ruled that evidence inadmissible, saying there was no evidence that Smith knew that Kifer or Brady had burglarized his residence prior to Thanksgiving 2012 and therefore had no reason to fear the two of them specifically. The question the justices must decide is whether that closing prevented Smith from getting a fair trial. Smith’s attorney, Steve Meshbesher, told the justices that cumulative errors meant that Smith didn’t get a fair trial. He cited prosecution errors during the grand jury proceedings that led to Smith being indicted, the court closure, Anderson’s decisions that limited who could be called as defense witnesses and what evidence he could present as reasons Smith didn’t get a fair trial. Brent Wartner, one of two prosecutors in the case, said outside of court that those were all lesser issues to the fact that Smith clearly premeditated and carried out the murders of the two teenagers. The Supreme Court took the case under advisement.
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