Posted on 02/01/2021 10:17:37 AM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has affirmed the third-degree murder conviction of former Minneapolis Police officer Mohamed Noor.
Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond in 2017 while responding to Damond's 911 call about a possible sexual assault behind her south Minneapolis home.
His attorneys argued that there was insufficient evidence to convict Noor of third-degree murder and the court wrongly allowed prosecutors to present two expert witnesses who provided similar testimony.
The three-judge panel looked at five points in considering his appeal:
Whether the evidence at the trial was sufficient to support the jury's guilty verdict for third-degree manslaughter,
Whether the evidence was sufficient to disprove Noor's affirmative defense of authorized use of deadly force, Whether the court violated Noor's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial,
Whether the court violated Noor's right to due process by limiting testimony about nationwide ambushes of police officers,
Whether the court abused its discretion by admitting the testimony of both state expert witnesses.
The appeals court ruled that even though Noor's "death-causing act was directed at a single person and the result of a split-second decision," the evidence at his trial was sufficient to establish he committed third-degree murder. Because he didn't establish a violation of his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial, the judges also ruled that Noor isn't entitled to a new trial.
Judge Matthew Johnson dissented on the first point, stating he didn't believe there was sufficient evidence to support the depraved-mind third-degree murder conviction, but otherwise agreed with Judge Michelle Larkin and Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman on the remaining four points.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to Noor's attorneys for comment on the ruling but they had no immediate comment.
I now see that they’re headed for the Minnesota Supreme Court...
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