Mohamed Noor's Attorneys File Motion To Throw Out Conviction In Justine Ruszczyk Damond's Death
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After weeks of emotional testimony and captivating arguments from both the prosecution and defense, it took the jury roughly 10 hours to find Mohamed Noor guilty of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond.
And it has taken his attorneys less than two weeks to ask the judge to throw out the conviction.
Jeff Dean is a criminal defense attorney with no connection to the case, but he understands how this process works.
"This is a case of insufficiency of the evidence," Dean said.
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In the motion, Noor's attorneys argue the evidence didn't prove Noor had a depraved mind when he fired at Ruszczyk Damond, which is necessary for third-degree murder.
"This goes back to the question of what was in his mind, given the circumstances that he was in, being in the dark alley, the nature of the call that he was responding to, of somebody being raped," Dean said.
Noor's defense also argue his actions after firing his gun, such as feeling distraught, and performing CPR on Ruszczyk Damond further prove their point.
"Convictions are reversed relatively rarely," Dean said.
He says a motion to appeal will soon follow.
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"And then it's heard at the Minnesota Court of Appeals," Dean said. "They review it from the beginning."
It is a process he says could then take several months, if not more than a year.
"This is a case where people can learn a lot about the law, and what is necessary to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt," Dean said.
He says the prosecution will release its response to the motion filed Tuesday within the next few weeks.
There is no timetable though on when the judge will make her ruling.
