Wise County Trial Ongoing

Pretty small jury panel but they had enough

As far as sex abuse cases go, this one seems pretty routine.  Allegation is inappropriate touching by a stepfather of (I think) a 14 years old stepdaughter while camping at the Grasslands.  The defendant has pled not guilty and is being represented by Paul Belew and David Singleton (who are doing a good job).  Prosecutors are Jay Lapham and Lindy Borchardt (ditto).

The defendant has pled not guilty and that phase of the trial is going on now.  If found guilty, the range of punishment would be 2 to 20 years but with probation as an option for the jury.

I did learn that the jury got a "don't read the blog" instruction from the judge. I suspect their reaction was, "What blog?"

Comments off. Once we have a final verdict, I'll turn them back on.


(For you legal types: I can't say that it's the most riveting trial in the world, but it was academically interesting with regard to the issue of the admissibility of the alleged victim's statements to a nurse when she was sent to the nurse by law enforcement. Does that prevent Rule Of Evidence 803(6) from being applicable?)