Key Takeaways
- State District Judge John Roach Jr. was recused from Karmelo Anthony’s Texas murder case due to impartiality concerns.
- Retired Judge Michael Chitty will now oversee the proceedings, including an upcoming hearing on whether Anthony will receive a new trial.
- Anthony’s defense argues that courtroom restrictions, jury instructions and a dispute with prosecutors affected the original trial.
Karmelo Anthony’s effort to overturn his murder conviction entered a potentially consequential new phase after the judge who presided over his trial was removed from further proceedings in the case.
On Wednesday (Aug. 19), visiting Judge Sid Harle granted a defense request to recuse District Judge John Roach Jr., whose post-trial comments became a central issue for Anthony’s new legal team. Roach told a Dallas television station after the June verdict that jurors “got it right,” while also defending courtroom restrictions he imposed during the highly publicized proceedings.
Harle said he believed Roach could be fair but concluded that the judge’s impartiality “might reasonably be questioned,” according to his written order. Retired District Judge Michael Chitty was subsequently assigned to consider Anthony’s motion for a new trial.
Anthony’s attorneys are now asking Chitty to throw out the conviction and grant a new trial. Their motion argues that the original proceedings were undermined by overly restrictive courtroom rules, improper jury instructions and a dispute with prosecutors that affected Anthony’s decision not to testify. The defense maintained that Anthony acted in self-defense.
Anthony, now 19, was convicted June 9 of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. The stabbing occurred April 2, 2025, during a track and field meet at a Frisco Independent School District stadium. Witnesses testified that the confrontation began after Anthony, then a student at Frisco Centennial High School, was repeatedly asked to leave a tent used by Metcalf’s team.
What Judge John Roach Jr.'s removal actually changes
Roach’s recusal does not erase Anthony’s conviction or guarantee another trial. It does, however, mean the arguments challenging his conviction will now be heard by a judge who did not preside over the trial and has not publicly defended its outcome.
Anthony’s legal team called Wednesday’s decision an important step toward having the new-trial motion considered by “a fair and independent judge.” Supporters cheered outside the Collin County courthouse after the ruling.
Chitty was scheduled to hear arguments on the motion Thursday morning. As of publication, a decision granting or denying Anthony a new trial had not been reported.