NEW ORLEANS — The upcoming re-trial of Cardell Hayes, the man previously convicted of killing former Saints defensive end Will Smith, will still take place in New Orleans.
Judge Camille Buras denied the request of the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office to move the upcoming re-trial, which is currently slated to begin on April 4. The conditions of bail also remain the same.
“This court thinks it conducted a properly conducted trial when this case went to jury trial, and the court is pretty confident in itself that it will do so again, even with COVID and different factors that are in play,” Buras said.
The incident between Hayes and Smith occurred in the Lower Garden District in April 2016. It stemmed from a traffic incident that erupted into violence when Hayes shot Smith multiple times. Hayes claimed he acted in self-defense.
A jury later convicted Hayes of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. He appealed his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, which tossed the conviction in 2021 and ordered a new trial following its earlier ruling that non-unanimous jury verdicts were unconstitutional.
The judge's order comes in spite of the prosecution's appeal that the high profile nature of the case may cause affect views amongst the jury.
Prosecutors must now contend with a presumed "stigma" around the fact that Hayes’ conviction was thrown out, because it was originally reached by a non-unanimous jury verdict.
“Maybe they’re going to give you truthful responses, maybe they’re not," Assistant District Attorney Matthew Derbes said. “We have to be honest with ourselves about what publicity means in 2022, with everything, social media, everything that's happened, all the coverage of this case.”