Smith murder appeal hearing postponed

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Due to a scheduling conflict, oral arguments in a Snyder man’s murder conviction appeal will not be heard in the 11th Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
District Attorney Ben Smith and attorneys for James Robert Smith were scheduled to present arguments in Eastland. Smith was convicted in June 2014 of the murder of his daughter, Mattie Smith.
According to court documents, the hearing was removed from the docket due to a scheduling conflict. A jury trial in 132nd District Court has been scheduled for next week which will not allow Ben Smith to attend the appeal hearing.
A new date for the appeal has not been set.
Attorneys for James Smith, Amos W. “Trey” Keith III and Jeffrey A. Propst, filed an appeal earlier this year and are seeking a new trial.
During the trial, James Smith’s attorneys said the shooting was accidental.
In their appeal, James Smith’s attorneys stated, “The trial court erred by not including an instruction on voluntariness of conduct in the jury charge despite defense counsel’s specific request for such  an instruction, and the trial court’s failure to do so caused ‘some harm’ to the appellant (Smith).”
Ben Smith, in his written response to the appeal, stated, “Because the evidence presented at trial did not raise the issue of voluntariness and because a trial court is not required to include an instruction in the jury charge which merely negates an element of the offense, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the requested jury instruction regarding voluntariness. Had the trial court been required to submit the requested instruction, the error, if any, was harmless.”
Mattie Smith was shot by her father after attempting to help her mother, Jeannie Collins, who was also shot by James Smith, according to testimony during the trial.
Trial testimony included in the appeal documents stated, “According to Jeannie, while Mattie was on the floor hugging Jeannie, James walked up behind Mattie, and Jeannie heard the shot that killed Mattie. Then Jeannie testified that her mentally disabled son, Jermaine, came into the room, and she told him to go get help. Jeannie denied having a knife or a broom when she entered the bedroom just before she was shot.”