Obviously the focus of yesterday’s Supreme Court action was the decision to let stand appeals court rulings allowing same-sex marriage in five states, which many believe paves the way for the overturn of Amendment One in North Carolina.
But another case before ran under the radar— the court denied an appeal by attorneys for Kalvin Michael Smith, who is serving a 29-year prison sentence for the 1995 beating of Jill Marker:
James Coleman, one of Smith’s attorneys, said the decision wasn’t a surprise. Coleman filed the petition in May, arguing that Forsyth County prosecutors suppressed or destroyed evidence that would have been favorable to Smith’s case. Smith has now lost all federal appeals. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles denied Smith’s appeal in June 2013, and the 4 th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld that decision earlier this year.
Smith’s legal fight is not over, however —his attorneys will return to Forsyth County Superior Court and seek an overturn to a judge’s 2009 decision to deny Smith’s appeal.
