Legal Consideration in Shaken Baby Cases (From The Shaken Baby Syndrome: A Multidisciplinary Approach, P 263-274, 2001, Stephen Lazoritz and Vincent J. Palusci, eds. -- See NCJ-195979)

• NCJ Number: 195983
• Author(s): Henry J. Plum
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: Haworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper discusses issues involved in the legal management and processing of cases of alleged shaken baby syndrome (SBS) in either criminal or juvenile/family courts.

Abstract

The author examines the various procedural alternatives that the legal practitioner/prosecutor may use to protect the victim of SBS from further injury and to hold the SBS perpetrator legally accountable. Also discussed are the strategies available for effective case building in both a criminal and family/juvenile law context. Recommendations are offered for collecting and presenting evidence to the court. The author advises that the unique challenge of the SBS case is to determine how the juvenile and criminal systems can interact to protect the SBS victim. Such a case also requires a multidisciplinary approach that brings together professionals with disparate orientations, such as police, social workers, and medical professionals. In addition, the legal practitioner or prosecutor should implement procedural alternatives to obtain the necessary medical evidence pertinent to diagnosis. Prosecutors must become familiar with the cause and explanation of the medical procedures used to diagnose and treat SBS.