'Making a Murderer': Steven Avery Denied New Trial, Again

“Making a Murderer” subject Steven Avery has been denied a new trial by Sheboygan County Circuit Court judge Angela Sutkiewicz.

According to the Post-Crescent, Avery’s attorneys sought to supplement the record with a CD they argued contains “exculpatory, material evidence” that was reportedly only disclosed to them in April. Avery’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner, argued that the state failed to disclose the disc and violated his right to a fair trial, therefore arguing for a new trial.

However, Judge Sukiewicz ruled on Thursday that his attorney’s failed to prove that the state suppressed the CD and that the defense had the same information on other CDs that it had previously received.

According to the judge, the state had given seven CDs to the defense in December 2006 and that the computer expert hired by Attorney’s defense team had found that the missing CD contained the same information as the other seven CDs.

“In light of all the evidence submitted, it is clear that the defense was in possession of the same evidence as the prosecution prior to trial,” Sutkiewicz wrote, according to the Crescent.

According to NBC 26, Sutkiewicz also said that Avery’s attorneys weren’t specific enough in telling the court what information was supposedly withheld on the CD.

In a statement to TheWrap, Zellner expressed disappointment with the decision.

“We were disappointed with the lower court’s opinion because it was riddled with factual errors, ignored most of the legal arguments and misapplied the law,” she said. “In the greater scheme of things the higher courts will make the final decision on whether Mr. Avery will be given a new trial. This decision was a speed bump and we have many levels of courts to appeal to before this is over. It is good to be on the way to those courts.”

Avery was previously denied a new trial last October by Sutkiewicz, who ruled that Avery had failed “to establish any grounds that would trigger the right to a new trial in the interests of justice.” Zellner had said she planned to present new evidence to the court for a request of a new trial after it was rejected by a state circuit judge.

Avery and his team have argued that evidence that he murdered photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005 was planted. He and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were convicted of the crime. Avery was sentenced to life in prison, and the trial was extensively covered in Netflix’s “Making a Murderer.”

A Federal Appeals court upheld a ruling that Dassey’s confession was involuntary and that investigators violated Dassey’s rights. However, in June, the Supreme Court declined to hear his case.

A representative for the Wisconsin Department of Justice said in a statement to TheWrap: “We are pleased that the circuit quickly denied Steven Avery’s frivolous motion to supplement the record for purposes of his post-conviction motion.”

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