New Development in Karmelo Anthony Case as Judge is Ousted Ahead of New Trial Bid

After Karmelo Anthony was found guilty of murder for fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Texas, he was sentenced to 35 years behind bars in a controversial trial that attracted nationwide attention. Just over two months after the verdict, there has been a major twist in the case – Anthony’s legal team is not only appealing his conviction, but is also requesting a new trial and a new judge.

State District Judge John Roach, the trial judge who presided over the Texas teen’s murder trial, was ordered removed from the bench for the retrial bid by Judge Sid Harle on Wednesday, who traveled from San Antonio for the proceedings in Collin County, ABC News reported.

He was ousted the day before a key hearing to determine whether Anthony will face a retrial for killing Metcalf, which his defense team argued was self-defense, according to NBC News.

During the hearing, Anthony’s legal team said that a retrial was warranted in part because Judge Roach enforced unnecessary strict courtroom rules, limiting the public’s access to the proceedings and barring any electronics in the courtroom, as reported by CNN and ABC News.  

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Anthony’s attorneys also questioned the judge’s impartiality, noting he imposed a sweeping gag order in late July 2025 ahead of the trial. The gag order barred nearly every individual directly or indirectly connected to the proceedings from speaking to reporters or posting on social media about the merits of the case.

Anthony’s attorneys argued that Judge Roach used his judicial authority to silence both sides under the premise of protecting the case’s integrity, only to break that very silence himself in a televised interview with Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA before Anthony’s post-trial appeals were resolved.

Anthony’s team called Judge Roach’s comments during the 18-minute interview, which aired two days after the verdict, “problematic.” In the interview, Judge Roach declared that jurors “got it right” when they convicted Anthony of murder.

“Yeah, they did,” Roach said, adding: “Whatever they say, they got it right.”

In a motion, Anthony’s team also pointed to a public letter Judge Roach released after the trial where he stated that those who worked on the case “contributed to ensuring the process was conducted fairly.”

In the eyes of judicial ethics experts and legal scholars, a judge publicly defending a verdict is essentially a baseball umpire declaring their own call flawless while the play is still under official review.

Under judicial conduct codes (including the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct), a judge is strictly barred from making public comments about any pending or impending matter that could reasonably affect the proceeding’s fairness or outcome. Because an appeal and a motion for a new trial keep a case legally active, Roach’s public defenses, Anthony’s team said, crossed the line.

Anthony, now 19, was in attendance at the Collin County courtroom hearing wearing a green prison jumpsuit alongside his parents, Kayla Hayes and Andrew Anthony, when Judge Harle recused Judge Roach and announced that a replacement would be appointed. Metcalf’s parents were also in the courtroom. Judge Michael Chitty will now consider Anthony’s attorneys’ motion asking for a retrial. He makes his decision on Thursday.

After Judge Roach’s recusal, supporters flooded the sidewalks outside of the courtroom crying, celebrating, and chanting “Free Karmelo!”