What Karmelo Anthony’s appeal could look like — and why experts agree it’s unlikely to succeed

The Dallas Morning News ^ | June 16, 2026 | Sally Avila Edwards

[kevcol]

Anthony’s case is now making its way to the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas, where appellate justices will review the trial proceedings to confirm or overturn the jury’s decision. But defense attorneys, a law professor, and a former criminal trial judge say the verdict is likely to stand, despite case elements that raised questions about the fairness of the proceedings.

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: austinmetcalf; courts; karmelo; karmeloanthony; murder; texas

[kevcol]

“The question is going to be whether the race-neutral reason that the prosecutors gave for striking the remaining black prospective jurors was genuine, or whether it was pretextual,” Ruben said.

David Finn, a former criminal trial judge and federal prosecutor who is not associated with the case, said he believed the removal was fair.

“I think that that is a race-neutral reason, and I think the conviction will stand on appeal,” Finn said.

I count 3 new cars:

[Skwor]

The jurors removed literally said they did not think they could convict a black kid, they removed themselves. The very definition of a biased jury if you allow such jurors

[Leaning Right]

> The jurors removed literally said they did not think they could convict a black kid… <

Gotta wonder why they admitted to that. By keeping quiet and being picked, they could have pushed the jury to convict on a lesser charge. Or worse case, caused a hung jury.

They probably just didn’t want to serve. If so, they picked a great excuse.

[Skwor]

Just my opinion, they had a conflict of conscience, they knew he was probably guilty even before going into the trial but could not bring themselves to make such a judgement.

A weird case where a character flaw resulted in a strength of character, “nosce te ipsum.”

[fwdude]

One black prospective juror called Karmelo a “brother.” So you’re going to give a fair hearing to a “brother?”

Please.

[rxh4n1]

“They probably just didn’t want to serve. If so, they picked a great excuse.”

I was on a jury panel and in the voir dire a guy said, “I can tell if someone is guilty just by looking at him”. Gone!
Then another one was a police officer who said, “The police don’t arrest innocent people”. Gone!

[Skwor]

No one was stricken for calling the murderer a “brother” they were stricken because they admitted they could not convict regardless. The details matter here. They way you state it could literally result in it being overturned because it may sound like a racial pretext for striking him

[Pete Dovgan]

I don’t think the media is thinking this through. What happens when an Angry ‘Karen’ gets into crowd of black people and they push her or brush by. Can she then take out a gun and kill all the nearby black people? You can’t use deadly force if you initiate the conflict or you don’t try to retreat.

[ladyjane]

Yes, they most likely didn’t want to be on the jury. After seeing that angry crowd outside the courtroom, who would want to be on that jury. Very dangerous.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I got to the panel interview stage once. The plaintiff had gotten too close to a swimming pool hole being dug in her backyard, the earth gave way, she fell in and got hurt.

“Your occupation?”
“Engineer”
“Dismissed”

LOL...can’t have an analytical mind on the jury!

[fwdude]

AWww, he lost his Jheri curl.

[Skwor]

Nope, they only want minds of mush and feelings so they can manipulate them, they do not want an actual critical analysis of the proceedings.

[NorthMountain]

I got to the panel interview more than once. We’ll take up the conversation at that point, using your words:

“Your occupation?”
“Engineer”

I was empaneled every time.

[Steely Tom]

I don’t think the media is thinking this through.

Hence the origin of the expression "drive-by media."

[fwdude]

On the jury panel I was in for a high-dollar shoplifting charge, I recognized the victim as the manager of a store where I used to work. Not friends, just boss/employee relationship. That connection was close enough for me to get stricken from the jury.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I imagine that there are times they would want an analytical mind on the jury and other cases where they just want emotional people.

[lastchance]

There has been claims it was an all White jury. That is false. The Blacks were struck not because of race but because of their association with a school system. The only (IMHO) other grounds for appeal would be if the judge gave the jury wrong or misleading instructions.

[NorthMountain]

That’s likely true. The knee-jerk reaction “they only want idiots” is simply false. Near as I can tell, they want jurors who will respond favorably to the way they plan to present their case. This could very well lead to one side trying to get emotional jurors and the other side trying to get analytical jurors.

[lastchance]

I think that was just one of jurors. The prosecution considered the case race-neutral which meant under Texas law that a “diverse” jury was not mandated.

[pas]

Well yes because she has boundaries. /s