It was almost a year ago that George Huguely was convicted for the murder of his former girlfriend, fellow UVA lacrosse player (and graduate of Baltimore’s Notre Dame Prep), Yeardley Love. A judge sentenced Huguely to 23 years for the murder, plus a concurrent year for stealing Love’s computer. And now, Huguely is asking for a new trial.
Huguely’s lawyers are arguing that there were major “constitutional and procedural errors” in the trial that saw Huguely convicted of second-degree murder. Huguely’s team seems to think that the jury wasn’t adequately advised as to the legal meaning of the term “malice,” a crucial definition that separates second-degree murder from manslaughter. There are a few other grounds for the retrial request, including claims that Huguely was denied his right to counsel (his lead lawyer got sick nine days into the proceedings, but the trial continued anyway), and that the jury was not fair and impartial.
This is the third time that Huguely’s legal team has attempted to get him a new trial; both previous motions were denied.
