MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) – The judge who presided over the 2016 murder trial of a man convicted of leaving his son inside a hot car has denied his motion for a new trial.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark’s ruling, issued Thursday, was not surprising. Had she granted the motion, she would have had to admit to key errors on her part in the case involving Justin Ross Harris, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Harris’ lawyers plan to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Harris, convicted of purposely leaving his 22-month-old son, Cooper, inside a hot car to die on June 18, 2014, is serving a life sentence plus 32 years at Macon State Prison. He maintains his son’s death was accidental.
Harris’ defense team – Marietta attorneys Maddox Kilgore, Carlos Rodriguez and Bryan Lumpkin – claimed the judge prevented them from challenging the credibility of Cobb County police and expert witnesses.