Back in action: Bulletin: Hannah Overton: State district judge sends case to appeal court: Her lawyer is disappointed. Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

STORY: "State district judge offers Hannah Overton recommendation, sends case to appeals court," by reporter Michelle Villarreal, published on May 31, 2012 in the Corpus-Christi Caller-Times.

GIST: "State District Judge Jose Longoria’s 14-page recommendation states new testimony from medical experts wouldn’t have changed the trial’s outcome. But the judge stopped short of making a recommendation either way on a new trial because he noted that other legal arguments should be decided only by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.........Overton’s appeal for an overturned conviction included two key claims: that her trial attorneys failed to properly represent her and that prosecutors withheld test results that showed low levels of sodium in the boy’s stomach contents.........One of Overton’s appellate attorneys, Cynthia Hujar Orr, said Longoria’s opinion is not a surprise. “I don’t agree with it,” she said, “and we will file objections with the Court of Criminal Appeals to tell them that they shouldn’t follow his recommendation.” The higher court will decide if the evidence from the hearing is grounds to set Overton free, order her a new trial or has no merit."

Read the opinion issued by State District Judge Jose Longoria regarding Hannah Overton's evidentiary hearing

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.caller.com/news/2012/may/31/state-district-judge-offers-hannah-overton-recomme/?partner=RSS

See Pamela Colloff's Texas Monthly commentary "Hannah's Prayer" at:

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2012-06-01/letterfromcorpuschristi.php

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.

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

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.