T.Rally
New Member
I don't know how much debate this has caused in the past or how much it will cause now because both sides are extremely passionate in their cause. I have to agree with what Dr Cogen testified as he is (was) my son's neurosurgeon. Dr Cogen is no longer practicing neurosurgery. He did not believe the injury was a result of a re-bleed, which I believe exonerated the mother from guilt. I'm sure there are people on both sides in this forum that know more than me. There are only two people in the world that know what happened to that baby. The mother and the babysitter, its a matter of who do you believe.
A Waldorf woman whose conviction on charges of abusing a child for whom she was baby-sitting became a highly charged issue in last year's Charles County state's attorney election was granted a new trial by a state appeals court this week, a defense attorney said.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled Tuesday that a trial judge erred in August 2001 when he refused to allow Nancy J. Brookbank's defense attorney to question the mother of the injured boy about a lawsuit she planned to file, attorney Robert H. Harvey Jr. said.
The appeals court said that Brookbank's constitutional right to question her accuser was denied, Harvey said. A copy of the unpublished ruling, which did not address Brookbank's guilt or innocence, was not available by press time Tuesday.
Brookbank's case became controversial after she was convicted of abusing 11-month-old Jack Sprague in the back seat of her car in December 1998. Jack, now 5, suffered a severe head injury while in Brookbank's care and is permanently disabled, say his parents, John and Robyn Sprague.
Brookbank, 33, was acquitted of assaulting the boy.
Many in Charles County rallied around Brookbank, a mother of two. Leaders of a group called Freedom4Nancy said it had more than 800 members and held rallies outside the Charles County and Prince George's County courthouses in support of Brookbank.
The group also drew criticism from some who thought its members tried to sway the Charles County state's attorney's election in favor of attorney W. Louis Hennessy (R), now a state delegate, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Leonard C. Collins Jr. (D). Collins prosecuted Brookbank's case in court himself.
Brookbank will not be released from prison until a bond hearing is held, Harvey said.
Collins can appeal the ruling to the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. If that occurs, Harvey said, it is not clear when, or if, Brookbank will get out of prison.
Collins did not return phone calls to his office or pages Tuesday afternoon. The Spragues have an unlisted phone number and could not be reached.
After Brookbank's conviction, the Spragues sued Civista Medical Center and three doctors, accusing them of malpractice in treating injuries suffered by their son before the incident for which Brookbank was charged.
Harvey said Brookbank's attorney at the trial should have been able to question Robyn Sprague about the planned lawsuit to determine whether she had a financial motive to see Brookbank convicted.
"This was no mere technicality," Harvey said of the court's reasoning. "This was a constitutional right of hers that was infringed. It goes to the heart of the criminal justice system."
A Waldorf woman whose conviction on charges of abusing a child for whom she was baby-sitting became a highly charged issue in last year's Charles County state's attorney election was granted a new trial by a state appeals court this week, a defense attorney said.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled Tuesday that a trial judge erred in August 2001 when he refused to allow Nancy J. Brookbank's defense attorney to question the mother of the injured boy about a lawsuit she planned to file, attorney Robert H. Harvey Jr. said.
The appeals court said that Brookbank's constitutional right to question her accuser was denied, Harvey said. A copy of the unpublished ruling, which did not address Brookbank's guilt or innocence, was not available by press time Tuesday.
Brookbank's case became controversial after she was convicted of abusing 11-month-old Jack Sprague in the back seat of her car in December 1998. Jack, now 5, suffered a severe head injury while in Brookbank's care and is permanently disabled, say his parents, John and Robyn Sprague.
Brookbank, 33, was acquitted of assaulting the boy.
Many in Charles County rallied around Brookbank, a mother of two. Leaders of a group called Freedom4Nancy said it had more than 800 members and held rallies outside the Charles County and Prince George's County courthouses in support of Brookbank.
The group also drew criticism from some who thought its members tried to sway the Charles County state's attorney's election in favor of attorney W. Louis Hennessy (R), now a state delegate, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Leonard C. Collins Jr. (D). Collins prosecuted Brookbank's case in court himself.
Brookbank will not be released from prison until a bond hearing is held, Harvey said.
Collins can appeal the ruling to the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. If that occurs, Harvey said, it is not clear when, or if, Brookbank will get out of prison.
Collins did not return phone calls to his office or pages Tuesday afternoon. The Spragues have an unlisted phone number and could not be reached.
After Brookbank's conviction, the Spragues sued Civista Medical Center and three doctors, accusing them of malpractice in treating injuries suffered by their son before the incident for which Brookbank was charged.
Harvey said Brookbank's attorney at the trial should have been able to question Robyn Sprague about the planned lawsuit to determine whether she had a financial motive to see Brookbank convicted.
"This was no mere technicality," Harvey said of the court's reasoning. "This was a constitutional right of hers that was infringed. It goes to the heart of the criminal justice system."
Of course that could be false. 
