JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A nearly 200-page appeal of the conviction of Michael Dunn in the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Jordan Davis outlines nine ways the defense thinks Judge Russell Healey erred during Dunn's two trials.
One of those claims is that Michael Dunn's second trial should not have happened here in Duval County, it should have been moved to another location.
Dunn fired into a SUV full of teenagers during an argument over loud music outside the Gate Station at the corner of Southside Boulevard and Baymeadows Road the day after Thanksgiving.
Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder in Davis' death and attempted murder of three other teenagers were were in the SUV that he fired into outside the Gate Station the day after Thanksgiving.
Dunn said he retrieved his gun out of the glove compartment and fired in self-defense, claiming he thought Davis (pictured) had a shotgun. No weapon was found at the scene. Dunn and his girlfriend drove off and never reported the incident. He was arrested at his Ormond Beach home the next day.
Dunn's first trial resulted in the conviction of the attempted murder charges, but the jury deadlocked on the murder charge. He was convicted in a retrial months later.
One of the arguments for appeal is that Michael Dunn's second trial should not have been held in Duval County, but moved to another location and that jurors were exposed to national media coverage and protest rallies.
According to the appeal: "Community awareness of the case pervaded the trial, and protesters and reporters filled the courtroom and an overflow room. It was impossible to receive a fair trial."
COURT DOCUMENT: Michael Dunn appeal brief
Attorney Rhonda Peoples-Waters, who is not affiliated with the case, claims that isn't necessarily a strong claim.
"During the initial trial, there were some jurors who obviously agreed with Michael Dunn's point of view," People-Waters' said. "That argument will definitely be contradicted by saying, 'Well listen, the initial jury was from the same venue and they were pretty fair to your client.'"
Another big claim in the appeal involves Assistant State Attorney John Guy, the lead prosecutor in the retrial. Terry Roberts, who filed the appeal, claims that in his closing argument, Guy crossed a line in trying to sway the jury when he told them,
"Your verdict in this case will not bring Jordan Davis back to life. Your verdicts won't change the past, but they will forever define it in our town."
"I raised it as fundamental error," Roberts said. "In my view, prosecutors are not allowed to ask the jury to send a message to the community or any kind of statement that sends an idea across to the jury."
"You can state the facts and that's what, definitely, John Guy's position was. He just wanted to rely on the facts. Overall, if that even was an error, how large was that error?" Peoples-Waters asked.
Peoples-Waters said that this appeal isn't surprising to her. She says anytime you have a case like this with such a large sentence, you are likely to see it appealed.
She said many of the claims are procedural in nature.
"That the law as it was written was not applied in these trials. That is going to be his argument," Peoples-Waters said. "He doesn't rely a lot on the facts of this case, because certainly the facts are not that supportive towards him."
The Florida Attorney General's Office, which has 20 days to respond to the appeal wouldn't comment on the appeal because it involves ongoing litigation.
Peoples-Waters told me that she expects multiple extensions to the deadline, possibly several months before there is a response.