ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Little Falls man found guilty of murdering two teenagers who broke into his house.
Byron Smith, age 67, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of first degree premeditated murder for the 2012 shooting deaths of Haile Kifer, 18, and Nick Brady, 17, on Thanksgiving Day, 2012.
His lawyers appealed his case in September of 2015, saying the trial was riddled with mistakes.
On Wednesday the court affirmed Smith's conviction, ruling that the district court in Morrison County did not err in denying a defense motion to dismiss the indictment on five alleged errors, and said the effect of those errors did not result in Smith being deprived of a fair trial.
The Justices also ruled that a closed proceeding to discuss a ruling on pre-trial evidence did not violate Smith's right to a public trial, and that the exclusion of four pieces of evidence did not violate the defendant's right to present a complete defense.
Lead defense attorney Steve Meshbesher likened Smith's situation to that of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who was convicted, appealed to federal court and was later released. "We have an opinion in the state court, but we are not done," he said, indicating that Smith will pursue a reversal all the way up the legal ladder. Meshbesher tells KARE 11's Karla Hult that Smith's case might be appealed directly to U.S. District Court, protesting the conviction under the first and sixth amendments.
Meshbesher told KARE 11's Allen Costantini that he spoke with Byron Smith for an hour Wednesday afternoon in Stillwater prison. He added that they are "seriously considering" taking the case to Federal Court. Ultimately, Meshbesher says Smith's appeal could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Smith's defense team had argued that the retired senior shot the teens in self defense after his house had been burglarized several times. In the appeal Smith's lawyers argued the judge made a mistake by deciding to close the courtroom for a conference before opening statements began in the trial.
The defense also argued the judge excluded witnesses who would have testified about previous times Brady burglarized Smith's house, and they argued the judge refused to allow the inclusion of two guns Brady allegedly stole from Smith's house.
"Well, obviously I’m pleased as is the entire family," said Steve Schaeffel, Nick Brady's grandfather. "Been a long, long, drawn out ordeal. Personally, I never doubted that Byron Smith got a fair trial. I thought the prosecution just laid out this case that was absolutely flawless as far as I was concerned."