A Texas judge who told a television interviewer that jurors "got it right" in convicting Karmelo Anthony of murder has been pulled from the case, a procedural win for the defense as it pushes for a new trial.
Judge Sid Harle, a visiting jurist brought in to hear the recusal motion, ruled Wednesday that a reasonable outside observer could question whether Judge John Roach appeared impartial after his post-verdict media comments. Harle ordered Roach off all remaining proceedings in the case and assigned Retired District Judge Michael Chitty to preside over the defense's motion for a new trial, Fox News Digital reported. That hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. the following day.
The ruling did not find that Roach broke judicial conduct rules. Harle said he believed Roach could be fair and described recusal as a "very high bar." But the legal standard does not ask whether a judge can be fair. It asks whether a fully informed third party looking at the judge's public statements could reasonably doubt his impartiality. Harle concluded the answer was yes.
A Collin County, Texas, jury convicted Anthony in June of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, who prosecutors said was fatally stabbed during an altercation at a high school track meet in Frisco. The jury sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison. He was transferred to the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and transported to the Pack Unit near Navasota.
After the verdict, Roach sat for a television interview with Dallas-area station WFAA. Asked whether the jury got it right, Roach replied, "Yeah, they did." He also defended several of his trial rulings, including his decision to bar cameras from the courtroom and his handling of the dismissal of three Black prospective jurors. Those comments became the centerpiece of the defense's challenge.
Anthony's legal team, led by an attorney identified in court filings as Wilson, filed two motions on July 7, one seeking Roach's recusal and one seeking a new trial. Roach referred the recusal request to another judge under Texas procedure, and the matter landed in front of Harle.
At Wednesday's hearing, which began around 9 a.m., Anthony's lawyers played the WFAA interview in open court. They argued that Roach's public endorsement of the verdict showed he had already made up his mind about their request for a new trial. Anthony himself attended the hearing after a bench warrant had been issued requiring his presence.
Anthony's legal team framed the ruling in pointed terms. AP News reported the defense issued a statement saying the decision "answers a fundamental question: whether a reasonable fully informed observer would see Judge Roach's conduct and believe that he could fairly and impartially consider a motion for new trial."
The new-trial motion does not directly challenge Anthony's guilt or innocence. Instead, it alleges a series of constitutional and legal errors that the defense says deprived Anthony of a fair proceeding.
Among the claims: Anthony's trial was not sufficiently open to the public. Cameras were barred from the courtroom, and only 27 seats were available for spectators. The defense also accuses prosecutors of breaking an off-the-record agreement about character evidence and other alleged acts unrelated to the murder charge. That dispute, the defense argues, forced Anthony to weigh whether to take the stand at the risk of having prejudicial evidence introduced before the jury. The motion further challenges the jury instructions, arguing they limited jurors' ability to fully consider Anthony's self-defense claim.
The case has drawn national attention and sharp debate. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, a Dallas pastor and Texas Democratic congressional candidate, told reporters that Roach "jumped the gun" by publicly agreeing with the jury's verdict, the Washington Examiner reported. Anthony's family has hired prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, and the defense team has been described as a newly assembled group of high-profile lawyers.
Not everyone agreed the judge did anything wrong. Prosecutor Bill Wirskye defended Roach directly.
"He didn't do anything wrong. I know Judge Roach. What is important to Judge Roach is being fair."
Wirskye also accused social media influencers of mounting a "concerted effort" to disrupt the trial proceedings, noting that some had been present in the courtroom, the New York Post reported.
Attorney Mehek Cooke, appearing on a Fox News segment, described Roach's decision to ban cameras as "protecting the courtroom from the mob." That framing captures the tension at the heart of the case: whether the judge was maintaining order or restricting public access in a proceeding that demanded transparency.
Roach himself offered no apology for his conduct. In his post-trial interview, he said simply: "As long as I follow the law, I sleep well at night."
With Roach off the case, Retired Judge Chitty now holds the question that matters most: whether the errors alleged by the defense are serious enough to warrant a new trial. The hearing was set for Thursday morning. Anthony, his parents, and the Metcalf family were all expected in the courtroom.
Austin Metcalf's father, Jeff Metcalf, and Austin's twin brother, Hunter, have been present throughout the proceedings. For the Metcalf family, the recusal decision means the case that ended with a 35-year sentence is now back in procedural limbo, with a different judge, a different set of arguments, and no guarantee that the original verdict will stand.
Several open questions remain. The specific jury instruction language the defense is challenging has not been made public. The exact terms of the alleged off-the-record agreement between prosecutors and defense counsel about character evidence are unclear. And it remains to be seen whether Roach's removal affects only the trial-court motions or carries implications for any future appellate proceedings.
Judges are supposed to let juries speak and then stay quiet. When Roach went on television and told the public the verdict was correct, he handed the defense exactly the argument it needed, and a new judge the opening to agree.
