Byron Smith Appeal to Be Filed With MN Supreme Court

ST. PAUL -- The lawyer for a Little Falls man convicted of murdering two teens in his home in 2012 says they have 90 days to file an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Steven Meshbesher says Byron Smith didn't get a fair trial in Morrison County, so he'll take it to the high court.

Because two of the counts are first degree murder, the case bypasses the Appeals Court and goes directly to the Supreme Court.

Smith was convicted on two counts of first degree murder and two counts of second degree murder in the shooting deaths of 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady.  The teens were shot after they broke into Smith's home on Thanksgiving Day 2012.

Meshbesher says they'll be arguing there were errors at the trial court and prosecutorial error.

The Supreme Court could uphold the convictions, overturn them or overturn the convictions and remand the case back to district court. Meshbesher says if the case is sent back to the lower court, he feels a change of venue is likely because of the media exposure it drew.