FORT WORTH, Texas — Attorneys for the former Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson in 2019 argued Tuesday his manslaughter conviction should be overturned.
Aaron Dean's lawyers told a three-judge panel a lower court should've moved the officer's trial away from Fort Worth, where the shooting prompted protests and drew significant media attention.
The attorneys contend the Tarrant County jury was affected by "influential individuals" who publicly offered opinions about the case, including Fort Worth's former mayor and police chief.
A jury convicted Aaron Dean of manslaughter in December 2022 for the October 2019 shooting. Dean, who did not appear in court Tuesday, is serving an 11-year sentence at the W.F. Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas.
He’s eligible for parole on Nov. 28, 2028.
The state's attorneys contend there is no evidence public official's comments about the case impacted the jury pool. Three years and the COVID-19 pandemic passed between the shooting and the trial, they noted.
During pre-trial jury selection, 43% of 191 prospective jurors told attorneys they had no knowledge of the case.
Dean's attorneys told justices that courts should be skeptical of potential jurors assertions during jury selection, suggesting some of the jurors had "subconscious knowledge" of the trial that influenced the trial's outcome.
In the last six decades, state's attorneys say Texas appellate courts have only once overturned a similar conviction on grounds the venue should've changed: the case against Jack Ruby, who killed Lee Harvey Oswald.
The panel from the Second District's Court of Appeals is expected to issue a decision in the coming weeks.
Oral arguments happened five days after Fort Worth city leaders agreed to settle a lawsuit related to the case. Jefferson's nephew, who witnessed the shooting, is slated to receive $3.5 million in the agreement, the largest settlement in Fort Worth's history.