COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Wednesday to determine whether a Youngstown man’s murder conviction should remain overturned or if his original sentence should be reinstated.

Lavontae Knight was convicted in 2022 for the 2018 shooting death of Trevice Harris. However, the Seventh District Court of Appeals reversed that conviction in June 2024, ruling that multiple errors during the legal process prevented Knight from receiving a fair trial. The state is now appealing that decision, asking the Supreme Court to validate the original guilty verdict.

The case stems from an incident on Dec. 30, 2018. According to court records, Harris and Quanisha Bosworth went to a home in Youngstown to deliver money to Knight’s family following the death of Knight’s brother. Bosworth testified that when they entered the kitchen, Knight and another man held them at gunpoint. The men allegedly forced Harris and Bosworth into a vehicle and drove them to a different location, where both victims were shot.

Harris died from his injuries. Bosworth survived, managed to drive away, and later identified Knight as the person who shot her. Following a trial in 2022, a jury found Knight guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, and felonious assault. He was sentenced to 58 years to life in prison.

The legal battle now focuses on why the appeals court threw out that conviction. The lower court cited the "cumulative error" doctrine, which suggests that while individual mistakes might not be enough to overturn a verdict on their own, multiple mistakes added together can deprive a defendant of a constitutional right to a fair trial.

The appeals court identified two specific errors. First, prosecutors waited three years to share DNA evidence with the defense. A report from 2019 linked DNA found in the victims' car to a different man. The state did not disclose this connection to Knight’s attorneys until February 2022, just 12 days before the trial was scheduled to begin.

Second, the appeals court pointed to a procedural issue involving the jury. After the verdict, it was revealed that a juror believed she had been followed home during the trial. The trial judge held a hearing to question the jurors about this incident but denied a request from Knight’s attorneys for more time to prepare for that questioning.

The Seventh District Court of Appeals ruled that these two issues combined created an unfair environment for the defendant.

During the upcoming hearing, a special prosecutor from Cuyahoga County, representing the state, will argue that the cumulative error rule should not apply. The prosecutor contends that this legal doctrine is only meant for mistakes that happen during the actual trial, not for issues that occur before the trial starts or after the verdict is read. The state also argues that the evidence against Knight, including the survivor's identification, was strong enough that these procedural issues did not change the outcome.

Knight’s defense team maintains that a fair trial includes the entire legal process, from the discovery of evidence to post-trial hearings. They argue that withholding evidence for years and rushing the juror hearing leaves doubts about the fairness of the proceedings.

The Ohio Supreme Court will hear the case as part of a two-day session involving seven different cases. The arguments are open to the public and will be streamed online. A decision from the justices is expected to be released later.