By USA Daily Now 
California Attorney General ROB BONTA is vehemently opposing PAUL FLORES‘ request to overturn or reduce his convictions for the 1996 murder of California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) freshman KRISTIN SMART. Flores, currently serving a 25-year-to-life sentence, filed a 107-page appeal claiming multiple errors during his trial, but Bonta’s office has dismissed his arguments as “meritless.”
In October 2022, Flores was convicted of Smart’s murder following a three-month trial. His appeal, filed in Monterey County Superior Court, alleged that Judge JENNIFER O’KEEFE abused her discretion by not dismissing a juror he claimed was biased and allowing a controversial photo to be presented during the trial. Flores argued that the cumulative errors deprived him of a fair trial.
However, Bonta’s office countered that each of Flores’ claims was either meritless or harmless, asserting that they did not impact the integrity of the trial. “The cumulative error argument lacks merit,” the filing stated. “Each alleged error lacked merit and was harmless.”
Flores specifically targeted Juror No. 273, whom he accused of bias throughout the trial. Bonta’s office defended the judge’s decision to retain the juror, stating, “Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding that Juror No. 273 had not lost her ability to remain neutral.”
Flores also contested the admission of testimonies from women who accused him of attempted rape, claiming it created unfair bias. However, Bonta’s office argued that such evidence was properly admitted and relevant to establishing a pattern of behavior.
KRISTIN SMART‘s disappearance in May 1996 remains one of California’s most notorious unsolved cases. Prosecutors allege Flores killed Smart during an attempted rape in his dorm room and disposed of her body, which has never been found. Smart was declared legally dead in 2002.
TREVOR BOELTER, one of the last people to see Smart alive, has urged Flores to disclose the location of her remains. “Paul Flores needs to come clean and tell the Smart family where Kristin’s body is located,” Boelter told DailyMail.com. “When his appeals have been exhausted, he will have to grapple with living behind bars for the rest of his natural life – and the best way he can begin to atone is by offering the Smart family closure.”
Flores is expected to respond to the attorney general’s brief by May 5.
[Read the AG’s court filing](https://www.examplecourtfiling.com)
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Sources: [DailyMail.com](https://www.dailymail.com), [San Luis Obispo Tribune](https://www.sanluisobispo.com), [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com)