There's a new development in the case of Christopher Porco. A judge has granted leave to Porco's attorney, Terry Kindlon, to take their case to the Court of Appeals. Our Steve Ference, who followed the trial closely, is standing by to explain.

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- There's a new development in the case of Christopher Porco to tell you about. A judge has granted leave to Porco's attorney, Terry Kindlon, to take their case to the Court of Appeals. This means there's lots more legal maneuvering to come, but Christopher Porco could be a free man someday if the conviction is overturned.

All of this comes after Christopher Porco was convicted back in 2006 of murdering his father and attempting to murder his mother with an ax. A New York State Appellate Division Court looked at the appeal by the defense, which was based on a number of questions that came up at trial. The big one was whether the nod by Christopher Porco's mother to investigators allegedly indicating Christopher might have committed the crime should have come into the case.

The court upheld the conviction, but after a conference with Associate Judge Robert Smith of the Court of Appeals, the defense team says the judge gave an order granting leave. That means the defense can appeal the case to the higher court based on the head nod question.

The District Attorney's office has consistently said it was harmless error since there was so much other evidence. The defense says it was hearsay, something that will eventually be decided now by the Court of Appeals panel of judges sometime next year.

The defense will file their paperwork, then the District Attorney's office will respond, then they'll respond to that.

Christopher Porco is currently at Clinton Correctional Facility, serving a life sentence.

We contacted the Albany County District Attorney's office to get reaction to the news. Here's what DA David Soares had to say: "Every defendant convicted of a crime after trial in our country has the right to appeal. The defendant in this case has the absolute right to exhaust every avenue in his pursuit to overturn the decision of the jury. We will continue to fight to preserve the will of the jury and the people of Albany County."