Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Bulletin: Rene Bailey. New York State; Judge to rule by year's end on motion to set aside her "shaken baby syndrome" conviction. Defence argues that since the trial research has found that other events - including falls - can cause the type of injuries in question. Democrat and Chronicle;


STORY: "Judge to rule by year's end in shaken baby case," by reporter Steve Orr, published by the Democrat and Chronicle on November 6, 2013.

GIST: "Monroe County Court Judge James Piampiano said Wednesday that he would decide before year's end on a motion to set aside the shaken-baby murder conviction of a Greece woman. RenĂ© Bailey was convicted in 2001 in the death of a 2 ½-year-old girl whom Bailey was watching in her home day care. Bailey said the child had jumped from a chair and hit her head, leading to the brain injuries that killed her. But prosecutors argued that the girl's injuries could only have been caused by violent shaking or hitting by an adult. In Piampiano's courtroom Wednesday afternoon, however, lawyer Adele Bernhard argued that since Bailey's trial, research has found that other events — including falls — can cause type of injuries in question. Were the proceeding to be held today, she said, the outcome likely would not be the same. "The jury would be presented with very different expert testimony," said Bernard, a law professor at Pace University in Westchester County who is representing Bailey pro bono. "It would be much more probable the jury would render a verdict more favorable to the defendant." Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Dunham threw cold water on the idea that the scientific consensus has shifted since 2001, however. "I don't think that opinion is commonplace in the medical community, nor does it even rise to being a controversy in the medical community," he said."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/2013/11/06/judge-to-rule-by-years-end-in-shaken-baby-case-/3457681/

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com