CONTEXT: "Avery, 59, has been serving a life sentence since he was convicted by a jury of killing Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer who disappeared in 2005. His story was featured in the Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer," which cast doubt on the motives of police and left many viewers with the impression that Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were wrongfully convicted. In November, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided not to review Avery's case. Avery and his attorney, Kathleen Zellner, asked the state's highest court to look at the case after a state appeals court ruled against them, rejecting arguments related to the effectiveness of his attorneys at trial and the way some of the evidence was handled by prosecutors.STORY: Steven Avery still has options, even after rejection by Wisconsin's highest court, The Appleton Post-Crescent (Reporter Chris Mueller) reports, on December 15, 2021."
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STORY: "Steven Avery still has options, even after rejection by Wisconsin's highest court," by Reporter Chris Mueller, published by The Appleton Post-Crescent, on December 15, 2021.
GIST: "Steven Avery still has options despite some recent setbacks as he continues to try to overturn his conviction for the murder of Teresa Halbach.
Avery, 59, has been serving a life sentence since he was convicted by a jury of killing Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer who disappeared in 2005.
His story was featured in the Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer," which cast doubt on the motives of police and left many viewers with the impression that Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were wrongfully convicted.
In November, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided not to review Avery's case. Avery and his attorney, Kathleen Zellner, asked the state's highest court to look at the case after a state appeals court ruled against them, rejecting arguments related to the effectiveness of his attorneys at trial and the way some of the evidence was handled by prosecutors.
Michael O'Hear, a law professor at Marquette University, said the decision by the state's highest court isn't necessarily surprising, considering it chooses to review only a limited number of cases.
"They have a tendency to focus on cases that present legal questions as opposed to messy factual problems," O'Hear said.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court gets about 1,000 petitions for review every term but chooses to hear only about 100 cases. It takes support from at least three of the seven justices for the court to accept a case.
"It would be surprising if there was any success on that front," he said.
There are other possibilities, though.
Avery could file a habeas corpus petition in federal district court, where he would have to show his constitutional rights had been violated. Only a small number of people who apply for such relief actually receive it, O'Hear said.
A decades-old study by the U.S. Department of Justice that examined habeas corpus petitions filed over a two-year period found about 3% were granted in whole or in part and about 2% resulted in any type of release.
"It would not be enough to show that there was a close or difficult constitutional question in the case," O'Hear said. "You would have to show that the state courts really blew it and committed an obvious violation."
And even if Avery's habeas corpus petition is somehow successful, prosecutors could appeal, potentially dragging out the process for years, O'Hear said.
A claim Avery raised earlier this year about a potential new witness was not evaluated as part of his most recent appeal, but could still be presented in circuit court, O'Hear said, though Avery would have to show why the issue could not have been raised earlier.
The new witness, a delivery driver named Thomas Sowinski, claims to have seen “a shirtless Bobby Dassey” — Brendan Dassey's brother and Avery’s nephew — and “an unidentified older male” pushing a Toyota RAV4 down Avery Road “toward the junkyard” in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2005, according to court documents filed by Zellner in April.
Halbach’s vehicle, a Toyota RAV4, was found later that day at the Avery Salvage Yard. Sowinski said he realized the significance of what he had seen after hearing the type of car Halbach was driving and where it was found. He immediately reached out to the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office but said a female officer told him: “We already know who did it,” the court documents say.
Zellner mentioned both the new witness' claim and a potential habeas corpus petition as possible options in a statement released on Twitter after the Wisconsin Supreme Court elected not to review Avery's case.
"We've just finished warming up in the first inning," she said.
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
