The Superior Court of Gwinnett County shot down a defense counsel’s motion to dismiss the county DA’s office from a 20-year-old murder case that was revived when modern medical knowledge started to indicate that the defendant, Danyel Smith, may not have been responsible for the death.

Defense attorneys Christine Koehler of the Koehler Firm and Mark Loudon-Brown of the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a motion to recuse the office after District Attorneys Christopher DeNeve and Daryl Manns arranged a meeting with their client’s fiancée, LaTasha Pyatt, advised her against bringing counsel and told her that the defense attorneys were misinforming their client about the plea.

A headshot of Mark Loudon-Brown. Mark Loudon-Brown, senior attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights. Courtesy photo