9 June 18 - 24, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Texas to a federal facility in Louisiana, and from a processing center in Arizona to one here in Dallas,” she said. Immigration attorneys have warned that “shuffle” flights may be used to punish pris- oners and keep them from legal representa- tion. They have also warned that the flights could be routed to states like Texas, which has one of the longest backlogs in immigra- tion cases in the country. Olmo’s message for Atlantic Aviation was simple: stop cooperating with ICE. “What we are asking about aviation is simple, and it is non-negotiable,” she said. “Stop opening your gates, stop fueling these planes, stop facilitating the removal of our neighbors from the city.” Atlantic Air was bought in a $10 billion deal by Apollo Global Management in early April. Apollo Global Management did not return a request for comment, and Atlantic representatives directed the Observer to the city’s statement. While the city has said it does not hold a lease agreement with the company, the pre- existing lease holder for Atlantic’s hangar, MLT Development, appears to lack any sub- stantial independence from the FBO and is registered to do business from the compa- ny’s Plano headquarters. “This is unjust — this is not right,” Eric Folkerth, lead pastor for Kessler Park United Methodist Church, said. “And that is why we, as clergy, are standing here today as part of this coalition. Our faith traditions, no matter what they are, demand that we treat the foreign and the migrant and the stranger as one of our own.” With the city appearing legally bound by its lease for Atlantic’s facility, Folkerth still called on Dallas officials to take action. ▼ CRIME & JUSTICE BEYOND THE VERDICT KARMELO ANTHONY APPEALS CONVICTION: WHAT’S NEXT? BY AUSTIN WOOD D efense attorneys for Karmelo An- thony are setting up for an appeal af- ter the 19-year-old was convicted of murdering another student at a track meet last year. On June 10, less than a day after Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf, another Frisco ISD student, his lawyers filed a notice of appeal. Anthony was convicted of first-degree murder after seven days of trial and three hours of deliberation by a Collin County jury. The jurors also took nearly three hours to hand down a sentence, which was being considered within a range of 5 to 99 years based on the first-degree murder conviction. The well-publicized case was fraught with rhetoric fueled by racial divisions both online and outside the Collin County Court- house, where Judge John Roach Jr. presided over the trial. Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang, who has propagated race-based divi- sion across the U.S. and in Collin County, was arrested in Dallas County last week af- ter spending most of the preceding week ag- itating Anthony’s supporters outside the trial. He is charged with terroristic threat to place the public in fear of serious bodily in- jury, interrupting public services or influ- encing a government. Anthony’s lawyers have also filed an indi- gent packet, indicating his eligibility for state-appointed legal representation due to financial hardship. The attorneys did not re- turn a request for comment, but his lead at- torney, Mike Howard, spoke to WFAA about the appeal. “We believe there are several important issues for the appellate courts to consider,” Howard said. “An appeal is the next part of the legal process and a right afforded every American.” The Verdict John Teakell is a Dallas-based attorney and former federal prosecutor who has tried cases involving violent crime. He said the verdict wasn’t surprising, based on the evi- dence presented by the prosecution. “Frankly, I was a little surprised that the sentence was only 35 years, because for a murder charge and the strength of the evi- dence, I thought it might be even more,” Teakell said. “I’m not saying it should have been; I’m saying I was a little surprised it wasn’t. But I think my guess as to the reason why is maybe because of the age of the de- fendant.” Jurors had been asked to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter, but opted to convict on the first-degree charge. Anthony had chosen to hand control of sentencing to the jury rather than to Roach. The composition of the 12-person jury, which did not include a single Black juror from a prospective pool of 600 people, could present an issue on appeal, Teakell said. “The state had cut several witnesses who are African American,” Teakell said. “That in itself doesn’t mean that it was improper, but it could be, and there’s got to be a justifi- cation. You have to show as to why you’re doing that.” What’s a Notice of Appeal? Niles Illich, a Dallas appellate lawyer specializing in criminal cases, including murder convictions, said the notice of ap- peal is simply the beginning of the process and will be accepted by the higher court. “It’s just a two-line document that says on this date, appellant defendant appeals this case that was sentenced on this date to the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas,” Illich said. “The court will accept that automati- cally.” Once the notice is accepted, he said, lawyers will begin thoroughly reviewing the trial record before presenting argu- ments. “Even when I’ve worked on the case before trial, I really don’t know what the appellate issues are until I get the record, and so the record is every word that was said at trial, every document that was filed in the case.” How Are Appeals Different? After examining the trial record, defense lawyers will file an appeal brief, which Illich described as a 50- to 60-page document de- tailing perceived legal errors made by Roach or the prosecution during the trial. The state will then file its own written argument, and in turn, defense lawyers will file another brief in response. Appeals cases can also include oral arguments, which he said are likely based on the 5th Court of Appeals’ prior case record. Illich said the judges will likely give each side 15 minutes to argue their case, with defense attorneys finishing with a five-minute rebuttal. The appeals process is distinct from reg- ular trials, he said, due to what’s being con- sidered by the court. “When you think about an appeal, what you’re talking about in general terms is mov- ing away from arguments about the facts — did he or didn’t he do it? And moving into weird little legal questions,” Illich said. The issues that are often very successful on ap- peal are often procedural questions; they are legal questions. They’re not the things that make great legal drama.” What Could Be Challenged? Illich added that there will likely be a good deal of speculation on the jury selec- tion process and whether or not a “Batson error” had been made preceding the trial. In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bat- son v. Kentucky that jurors cannot be struck for their race or ethnicity. Based on the Bat- son precedent, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a death row inmate in Mississippi and overturned both his conviction and sen- tence in late May after determining that the trial judge had allowed prosecutors to strike jurors based on race. Three Black female prospective jurors were struck by prosecutors before the trial began. Anthony’s attorneys objected, citing racial motivation for the move. Roach, how- ever, sided with the prosecution, who cited the women’s occupations as educators as the motivation for the move. The lead prosecutor argued that the case had “nothing to do with race” in his opening argument, according to prior reporting by The Dallas Morning News. New evidence or revelations casting prior evidence’s credibility in doubt could serve as the basis for the defense appeal, Illich said. Anthony’s attorneys could also try to bolster the self-defense argument that jurors ulti- mately rejected at trial, although proving the sufficiency of the evidence for those argu- ments is a complex and often unfruitful ef- fort in Texas, he added. “It is, by design, a difficult thing to do, be- cause the standard is meant to defer to the jury significantly,” he said. “So you don’t re- weigh credibility, you don’t say, ‘Hey, there was competing evidence, and this seems more reliable.’” Sentencing could also come under scru- tiny in appeal if defense lawyers argue the jury was improperly instructed or educated on the law before determining punishment, Illich said. How Long Could it Take? Illich said the process leading up to the appeals court’s final ruling should take “about 18 months.” That process could be delayed by up to 45 days or longer if Anthony’s attorneys file a motion for a new trial, which would be con- sidered by Roach, he said. Anthony currently has a 30-day window following the verdict to file the motion. Un- like the appeals process, his attorneys could bring up other factors not considered in the first trial, such as media attention potentially affecting Anthony’s ability to receive a fair trial at the Collin County venue, Illich said. Roach barred cameras from the court- room and set strict media rules for the trial. He also issued a gag order preventing the attorneys, consultants and witnesses for both the prosecution and the defense from speaking until sentencing. “That’s pretty strong evidence,” Illich said. “I mean, I would think that would be some evidence that there was a risk of that, there was a risk of prejudice, and the people would be listening to what is being said.” What Happens in the Meantime? Anthony will be unable to post bond to stay out of custody during the appeals pro- cess due to his murder conviction. He has been in custody since the trial’s conclusion and was transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Wallace Pack Unit near College Station, where he could remain for the remainder of the ap- peals process. If the appeals process is un- successful for his lawyers and a new trial is not granted, Anthony will remain incarcer- ated. He is first eligible for parole after serv- ing half of the 35 year sentence. Austin Wood Faith leaders called attention to the World Cup and ICE presence, particularly at Love Field, throughout the tournament.
