STAMFORD, Conn. — Rather than ending the long saga of the Martha Moxley murder case, a jury's conviction of Michael C. Skakel on Friday has opened a new and potentially lengthy chapter of legal wrangling and appellate proceedings. Skakel's lawyer, Michael Sherman, said on Saturday that he would seek next week to have the conviction thrown out and to have his client released from prison.
Sherman, who vowed a swift appeal after court on Friday, reiterated his commitment to Skakel on Saturday. "Until I am fired or dead, I am on this case," he said.
From the moment of Skakel's arrest on Jan. 19, 2000, the case has raised a thicket of complex legal issues, and there are numerous grounds for appeal. Chief among them is Sherman's contention that Skakel should have been tried as a juvenile because he was 15 at the time of the killing. The Connecticut Supreme Court dismissed this appeal as premature in November but it will now be renewed.
Another matter for appeal will be a five-year statute of limitations that existed in Connecticut law in 1975 for all crimes other than capital murder. Because Skakel was initially charged as a juvenile he could never have faced a capital charge. In a pretrial motion, Sherman asked Judge John F. Kavanewsky Jr. to dismiss the case based on the statute of limitations. The judge denied the request.
And then there is a litany of potential appellate issues stemming from the trial itself. Over three and half weeks in court, Sherman and the state prosecutors battled repeatedly over the admissibility of testimony based on rules regarding hearsay and other issues. Several of Kavanewsky's decisions in this area are likely to be questioned on appeal. The judge's instructions to the jury will also be debated.
Prosecutors, however, said they remained confident.
Sherman said his first priority next week would be a written request that Kavanewsky set aside the jury's verdict on the ground that the evidence presented was not sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Sherman has five days in which to make the request.
The lawyers will also ask that Skakel's bail be reinstated and that he be released pending sentencing on July 19. After the verdict, Kavanewsky immediately revoked Skakel's $500,000 bail and ordered court marshals to handcuff him. He was later taken to the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in South Suffield, Conn. The judge is unlikely to grant any of this immediate relief.