Supreme Court overturns 2005 child abuse conviction

DETROIT >> The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday overturned a child abuse conviction more than 15 years later, saying a man’s rights were violated when his attorney failed to request tax dollars to hire an expert witness.

Terry Ceasor’s attorney has said he didn’t seek public money because he didn’t believe his client qualified.

The court, 4-2, said that was enough to spoil the conviction. Ceasor was released from prison about 10 years ago.

“This is all about clearing his name,” said David Moran, director of the Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school. “He has a child abuse conviction on his record.”

Ceasor, who was convicted of child abuse in 2005, was accused of shaking his girlfriend’s 16-month-old son and causing injuries. Testimony from a prosecution expert was unrebutted.

Ceasor denied abusing the child. He said he left the boy on a couch while he was in the bathroom and then heard a thud. The boy recovered from his injuries.

Ken Lord defended Ceasor based on financial help from Ceasor’s mother. Lord said he didn’t ask a judge for money to hire an expert medical witness because he figured Ceasor wouldn’t qualify.

The child “had a classic concussion,” Moran said. “We had a bunch of experts who examined the record and said this is not a shaken baby. He wasn’t even a baby.”

Ceasor’s bid to overturn his conviction has been in state and federal courts for years. A federal court in 2016 sent the case back to the Michigan with orders that the issue of Lord’s performance be reexamined.