Paul Flores’ conviction and 25-year-to-life sentence for the 1996 murder of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart will stand, the California Court of Appeal ruled Friday.

Flores was convicted of Smart’s first-degree murder in October 2022, after a Monterey County Jury convicted him following a three-month trial.

In oral arguments on Oct. 13, Flores attorney, Soloman Wollack, argued Flores did not receive a fair trial, particularly focusing on a juror he believed should have been dismissed, the testimony of two women who said Flores had raped them and the belief that the judge incorrectly defined attempted rape in jury instructions.

The court ultimately sided with California Deputy Attorney General Colleen Tiedemann, who argued that Flores’ trial was fair and that his conviction should stand.

According to the opinion filed by the appellate court on Friday, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe did not abuse her discretion when she allowed Juror 273, who had four separate instances where the defense asked her to be removed, to stay on the case.

The court found that Juror 273’s only slight misconduct was when she told the bailiff that her strong emotional reaction was because it was the first time she could see Flores being guilty, but added that it was not a deliberate discussion of the case and offered as an apology and explanation for the outburst.

As for the anxiety caused by the defense counsel that caused the juror to ask for a break, “the criticism was mild, his questions were aggressive and repetitive,” the opinion said, adding that criticism of counsel is not sufficient to discharge a juror absent of evidence of serious bias.

The court also found the testimonies of the two women who claim Flores raped them was properly admitted, adding that Flores’ murder charge was connected to a sex crime and that there was sufficient evidence to support the women’s testimonies being entered into evidence.

The court also found that the evidence presented during the three-month trial was sufficient enough for a jury to reasonably conclude Flores murdered Smart in the commission of a rape or attempted rape, even without the testimonies of the two women.

The court concluded that there were no cumulative errors that required a reversal or reduction in Flores’ conviction. Flores has 10 days to file a petition to the California Supreme Court to review his case if he chooses to continue his effort to reverse his conviction.