Michael Dunn appeal not a surprise, but Wes White thinks it lacks legs

The Florida Times-Union ran a piece on Wednesday afternoon detailing the grounds for the attorney for Michael Dunn appealing his murder conviction for the killing of Jordan Davis.

Interestingly, my own journalism figured into the appeal.

One of the grounds for appeal: a juror was removed from the trial because he made a joke about prosecuting attorney Angela Corey.

I’d written about that whole mess, which resulted in me being called to the courthouse to testify on Saturday morning. My thoughts at the time?

“I expected the story might gum up the works, as it did. I also expect that jury selection will play a role in the eventual appeals. All of this could have been avoided had the trial been moved someplace where the murder of Jordan Davis wasn’t so widely covered and so notorious, a place where members of the jury pool do not have preconceptions about the district attorney. But Corey wanted the trial in Jacksonville; these are the risks she took.”

Those qualms, unsurprisingly, constitute part of the appeal.

That said, even those who have criticized Corey on other grounds believe that Dunn is done, when it comes to a shot atappeal.

I contacted her opponent in the state attorney’s race, Wes White, for his take.

After letting me know that he hadn’t read the book-length brief itself, White said, “I believe that the appellate court will not overturn” the verdict.

“The trial court did a great job handling the case,” White said, citing the claims made in the appeal as “harmless error” that did not affect the actual verdict.

Regarding the conviction of first-degree murder, there was discussion at the time revolving around whether or not Dunn was overcharged.

White said no, asserting that it doesn’t take “lengthy premeditation” to satisfy the criterion of premeditation.

“The verdict is appropriate,” White said.

Removing a juror likewise does not constitute “reversible error,” White said.