TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Michael Dunn, the man accused of killing a Jacksonville teenager in a dispute over loud music, got his day in court Tuesday – his third.
Dunn is appealing his 2014 murder conviction in the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. He was tried in 2013 as well, and convicted of three attempted murder charges for firing into a car of unarmed teenagers. The original jury could not agree on the 1st degree murder charge.
The high profile case, on the heels of the George Zimmerman trial, drew attention from international media and filled courtrooms for weeks. Tuesday’s hearing at the First District Court of Appeal was a more subdued affair – just a handful in attendance, including Davis' mother, Lucia McBath.
Dunn’s attorney, Terry Roberts, filed a 200-page appeal last fall, raising concerns ranging from Circuit Judge Russell Healey’s decision not to move the trial to another city, to his decision to remove a juror who made a disparaging remark about Prosecutor Angela Corey.
In court, however, Roberts was given just 15 minutes to present his case, and he focused on whether the state sufficiently rebutted Dunn’s claim of self-defense. He said that prosecutors failed their duty to disprove that Dunn thought he was in danger when he fired into a car of unarmed teenagers.
At least one judge seemed skeptical. Judge Ross Bilbrey wondered if Dunn’s claim that he'd heard Davis make a threat was sufficient to justify retaliation. "If you said, ‘Judge I'm going to kill you’ -- I could just blow you away? I don’t think that's true.”
Roberts also argued that the judge in the case shouldn’t have allowed the medical examiner to testify about bullet trajectory and other ballistics matters. After the hearing, Roberts said he said the appeal is about Dunn’s right to a full defense, and not “symbolic” of other issues.
But the case continues to resonate, evidenced by the handful of protesters who showed up outside court. Regina Joseph let a chant of “Black Lives Matter,” while others held “Justice For Jordan” signs.
“We’re here because Michael Dunn does not deserve an appeal,” Joseph said. “He murdered a teenager in cold blood. The facts absolutely show that, and Jordan Davis did not have a gun, and listening to music is not a crime.”
Lucia McBath, mother of Jordan Davis, said she concedes Dunn’s right to appeal, but said it’s difficult to see her son’s killer seek to overturn his conviction.
“It prolongs things. It’s like the never-ending story --- it goes on and on. So even though we have resolution, it’s challenged.”
The three-judge appellate panel adjourned without saying when it might issue a ruling. Attorneys for both sides said it could take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months.