3/20/14 - A year after being sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, the appeal process continues for the man convicted in a Livingston County double-homicide. A motion to hold an evidentiary hearing in the appeal of the conviction and sentence of 67-year-old Jerome Kowalski was denied Tuesday by the Michigan Court of Appeals. The court indicated the hearing was not necessary as it could decide the merits of the appeal without Kowalskiâs attorney having to testify. This is just the beginning of the appeal process. Livingston County Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt tells WHMI that Kowalski still has to file a brief outlining the substantive grounds for appeal. Once that is done, his office will then file a response. Only then will oral arguments be set for the appeal. Kowalski was convicted in January of 2013 on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder and two felony weapons charges for the shooting deaths of Richard and Brenda Kowalski in their Oceola Township home in 2008. Prosecutors said the Warren man was disgruntled about his relationship with his more successful brother and the two had disagreed about how to handle the estate of their mother. One of the issues expected to be a part of the appeal is a previous ruling from Judge Theresa Brennan that barred the defense testimony of an expert on false confessions. (JK)
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