Overview
- A pro‑bono appellate and civil‑rights team filed a 63‑page motion for a new trial and a verified motion to recuse Judge John Roach on July 7, arguing those filings raise constitutional and procedural errors.
- The new‑trial motion says Anthony’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated by a ban on cameras, no livestreams, and just 27 public seats that limited courtroom access.
- The filings contend prosecutors repudiated an unwritten agreement to exclude character and extraneous‑act evidence, a shift the defense says forced Anthony to decline testifying.
- The recusal request cites multiple post‑trial media comments by Judge Roach, including that the jury “got it right,” and asks that a regional administrative judge decide whether Roach must step aside for post‑trial proceedings.
- Prosecutors say the motions mischaracterize the trial and will respond in court while Anthony serves his 35‑year sentence at the Wallace Pack Unit and the formal appeals process proceeds over coming months.