Paul Flores asks CA Supreme Court to overturn Kristin Smart murder conviction
After his first attempt to overturn or reduce his conviction of the murder of Kristin Smart, Paul Flores filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to review his appeal.
Flores, 49, was convicted of Smart’s 1996 murder in October 2022 following a three-month trial. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.
The petition for review, filed with the state Supreme Court on Dec. 1, came after the California Court of Appeal upheld Flores’ conviction in a decision published Oct. 24 and denied him a new hearing in his appellate case on Nov. 21.
The California Supreme Court is the highest court in the state, serving as the final level of appeal for most cases originating in California, with its decisions binding on all other state courts.
In the petition, Flores’ attorney, Soloman Wollack, claimed the Court of Appeal’s decision “omits multiple relevant facts,” including defense arguments over cadaver dogs alerts and Flores’ own intoxication.
The petition made the same arguments as in his first appeal, focusing on a juror the defense believed was biased and should’ve been dismissed, the testimony of two women who said Flores raped them and the prosecution’s use of a ball-gag photo. It also alleged the court violated Flores’ due process by allowing testimony about Smart possibly being on “roofies” and misstated the criminal definition of attempted rape of an intoxicated person.
The petition argued that while just one of these errors doesn’t rise to a violation of due process on its own, the cumulative effect of all the errors does and deprived Flores of a fair trial.
The petition asked the court to reverse or at least reduce Flores’ conviction to second-degree murder based on an alleged lack of sufficient evidence for a first-degree murder conviction.
The court has 60 days from Dec. 1 to make its decision, with the potential for a 30-day extension.
If the Supreme Court denies the petition, the Court of Appeal decision becomes final and further appeal in any California court is prohibited.
