BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's a decision that could give 29-year-old Matthew Kuzdzal a second chance in court: the appellate division reversed his 2014 murder conviction based on how a claim of juror bias was handled by the trial judge.
But the Erie County District Attorney's Office believes there's no reason for Kuzdzal to have another trial for sexually assaulting and killing 5-year-old Eain Brooks. And now it's taking its case to the state's highest court.
"We're going to go to the Court of Appeals and make the argument to the Court of Appeals that the jury was right, Judge Burns did nothing wrong and this individual should be in jail for the rest of his life," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn (D).
The appellate division ruled that Judge Burns should have questioned two jurors who were allegedly overheard talking about Kuzdzal before deliberations, calling him a "scumbag."
But Flynn says the judge determined the witness who claimed to hear them wasn't credible.
"I am confident that, in my opinion, Judge Burns did nothing wrong here and that will come out at the end of the day," said Flynn.
While the DA's office says the appellate division found no issues with Kuzdzal's guilt, that won't help its appeal, as the court will only review one thing.
"It's a narrow issue and the issue is did the trial court error by not vetting this juror properly?" said Flynn.
Although Kuzdzal remains in custody, he didn't appear in court Wednesday. But his attorney says he seems to be holding up very well.
"His position all along has been, 'I did not sexually assault that child, what happened was I lost my temper and it was more of a horrible accident than anything else.' And I think to a certain degree he feels vindicated at this point," said Robert Cutting, Kuzdzal's defense attorney.
Cutting hopes Kuzdzal will get another trial, as he doesn't believe justice was served at the first one.
Flynn says if their appeal is denied, the DA's office intends to re-try Kuzdzal on both counts.