MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota man serving two life sentences for killing two teenage burglars is appealing his conviction.
Byron Smith has filed a notice with the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which argues a brief closure of the courtroom denied him his constitutional right to a public trial.
The Star Tribune reports the notice is the latest in a number of legal filings by Smith to have his convictions overturned. The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled the courtroom closure was an administrative proceeding so the right to a public trial law does not apply.
Smith fatally shot 17-year-old Nicholas Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer on Thanksgiving of 2012 as they broke into his home. Smith claimed self-defense.
