The attorney for an illegal immigrant who was charged with murder in the shooting death of Kate Steinle is now moving to have those charges dismissed.
The lawyer of Francisco Sanchez says that her shooting was an accident ?? not murder.
While this line of defense was largely expected, California criminal defense attorney Troy Slaten said today he thinks ??it??s unlikely to succeed.?
??The state court judge here ? either has to be reelected or reappointed,? he explained. ??He??s not going to want to take this decision away from a jury.?
Steinle??s case has triggered a firestorm of controversy since she was fatally shot this summer while out for a walk in San Francisco with her father.
It soon emerged that her suspected shooter, Sanchez, was a Mexican illegal immigrant who??d been deported five times from the U.S.
With stakes so high, the judge will likely deny the latest motion and send the case to trial, Slaten predicted.
Whitney Boan, a former assistant public defender in Orlando, said that while she agreed with that analysis, the courts ought to deserve ??some more credit.?
Once this moves forward, the jury will have a hard time making their decision, she added.
Attorney Wants Murder Charges Dismissed in Kate Steinle Case | Fox News Insider