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References in Roberson Trial Transcripts to
Shaken Baby Syndrome, Shaking, and Abusive Head Trauma
(not comprehensive)
Cite Quote Notes
Vol.
7, 40
Q. Okay. Have you had any involvement in cases where children have died
of shaken baby death?
A. No, I haven't.
Q. Abusive head trauma?
A. No. I haven't had that. I haven't seen that.
Veniremember
Larry D. Hobson
by Doug Lowe of
the prosecution
Vol.
7,
88-
89
Q. Okay. In your work and training have you come across or had any
educational materials given to you on shaken baby deaths, shaken baby
syndrome?
A, Oh, yeah, uh-huh.
Q. That may be in this case. How many hours of that training have you
had?
A. Oh, just a couple.
Q. Okay. Do you have you had any of the literature that describes the--
A. What you should do. Yes, going through first aid training and CPR
you're made aware of that. And also part of the Y you know that they teach
you not to shake children, support the head and neck, you know, and that
kind of thing, and common sense.
Q. And, of course, that'd be another area where you couldn't disclose any
specialized learning or training that you had to the other jurors in the jury
box. You couldn't say--Well, what's your understanding of what a shaken
baby death is?
A. Well, just their little structures are not as, you know, their muscle mass
and structure are not as stable and strong as ours and that excessive shaking
can cause brain damage, hemorrhaging, neck problems which can cause
suffocation.
Q. Have you actually seen any of those children in your work?
A. No.
Q. The results of it?
A. No.
Veniremember
Michael J. Oranch
by Doug Lowe of
the prosecution
Vol.
7, 99
Q. Okay. Mr. Lowe asked you about shaken baby syndrome and I think that
is going to be an issue that's going to be raised in this case. Is there
anything about the aspect of that being involved in the case that would give
you a particular sensitivity or particular problem in basing your decision
solely upon the evidence presented in the court?
A. No, sir.
Veniremember
Oranch by Stephen
Evans of the
defense
Vol.
8,
Q. In the course of your medical studies, have you
studied or heard about cases of shaken baby?
Veniremember
Linda Kay Morris
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23-
25
A. I've heard it, yes.
Q. Or inflicted head trauma?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Just tell me what your general understanding of that concept is .
A. Especially if it's real young, you can shake and loosen the brain stem. It's
pretty easy to do. I think it's easier to do than most people think. It's why
you always have to be really careful with children.
Q. Right. Well, your children, though, you've raised two 4 of them. Did
they seem pretty durable to you?
A. Oh, yeah, they were pretty durable. I mean it takes excessive force. I
think it takes more than-- you have to
really-- You know what I mean?
Q. I understand what you're saying.
A. Kids are pretty tough, but they are breakable.
Q. Right. The motion you described, how would you see a person doing
that to a child?
A. If they got-- Just shaking them, I guess. If you lost complete control, I
guess, and just shook them.
Q. You said if you lost control. You think--
A. I don't know how, you know. That's something—You should never
discipline a child when you're angry.
Q. Right. Can you see a context where shaking a child hard enough to kill
him or her, that that conduct could be—We talked about intentional or
knowing. Could you see a situation where that conduct could be intentional
or knowing?
A. I think so, yes.
Q. You could shake a child hard enough to--
A, I think so. I think if you were mad enough and I think you could.
Q. And as we talked about intentional and knowing, you could see how that
conduct could be intentional?
A. I could see that, yeah.
Q. Even though a parent might be stressed or might be, for whatever
reason, unable to control--
A. Right.
Q. --themselves. That conduct, if they shook a child to death, you could see
that to be intentional conduct?
A. Yes
by Doug Lowe of
the prosecution
Vol.
8,
28-
29
Q. Okay. I want to get back to when Mr. Lowe asked you about shaken
baby cases.
A. Okay.
Q. And you illustrated an element of shaken baby cases, that a person has
lost control?
A.Uh-huh.
Q. And y'all talked about intent. Would you also agree it's possible that the
intent was not to take the life of that child, that a lot of other things may be
into play at that point?
Veniremember
Morris by Stephen
Evans of the
defense
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A. I could see that, yes. I mean, you know, I just hope, you know, that
nobody would intentionally, you know. But I could see where in the
moment that it could. I could see both ways.
Q. You answered that you understood that some people can lose control
when they're under stress. You've got a very stressful job yourself.
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And that stress can make them do things that they normally would not
do?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Okay. And as I understand it, stress is a major issue in shaken baby
cases. Would you agree with that?
A. I would think so, yes.
Q. Where a lot of the motivations might be if the child is sick, crying,
disruptive, things of that nature. Your focus is on ending that activity.
A. Right.
Q. Not necessarily ending the child's life.
A. Right.
Vol.
9, 48
Q. Have you ever heard of the shaken baby syndrome?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Could you tell me what you think it is?
A. When a person shakes a child so hard that it does something to the brain,
I think. I'm not really for sure exactly what it does, but it kills them. I'm not
sure exactly what it does.
Q. That would be pretty horrible for a parent to do that to a child, wouldn't
you agree?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Can you see any reason for a parent to do that to a child?
A. I can't personally. I mean I don't see how a parent could get that mad,
but I mean I guess it depends on what happened.
Q. Okay. You would never get that mad –
A. No, sir.
-- at a child, whether it was yours or somebody
A. No, sir.
Veniremember
Misty Cooper by
John VanMeter of
the defense
(prosecution didn’t
mention shaken
baby)
Vol.
9, 98
Q. Have you ever heard the term shaken baby or shaken baby syndrome?
A. No.
Q. Okay. You've never heard of a situation where somebody lost control,
shook a small child and that resulted in either serious injury or death of the
child?
A. Well, I've heard of it happening. I haven't heard it called that.
Q. All right. But you've heard of that happening?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. I'll submit to you that that is going to be a prominent aspect that
plays in this particular case. . .
Veniremember Joy
Gail James by
Stephen Evans of
the defense
(prosecution didn’t
mention shaken
baby)
Vol.
9,
119
Q. Belize in medical school. This case is going to involve some pretty
technical medical concepts. Have you studied abusive head trauma to
children or sometimes called shaken baby syndrome or shaken baby?
Veniremember
Deborah Stewart
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day.
A. Briefly. We didn't go into it in great detail.
by Doug Lowe of
the prosecution
Vol.
10,
20-
22
Q. Right. Have you ever seen a coach shake a player and hurt a child by
getting him on the sidelines?
A. Children?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. You ever shaken your children?
Q. No, sir. I never have shook my children.
A. You're quite a man. I've seen coaches shake kids to
get their attention. I've not seen anybody hurt anything, but I've seen kids--
'Look here. You've got to do this. Look here.' And it's more of an attention
getting thing or I used to see coaches grab them by the face mask and that's
something that I really tried to make myself never do because I didn't like
the looks of it from an observation point of view. But I think most of the
time when teachers or coaches are trying to do those things they're not
trying to hurt the child. Is it possible to hurt somebody that way? Sure. Hurt
their back simply by pushing them and getting them off balance? But I've
have seen anybody hurt a child intentionally in my career. And that's 27
years of teaching and coaching. But I have-- I do know there has been
people that abuse that honor, privilege, responsibility or whatever and have
hurt children and I don't agree with that ever.
Q. Have you read or studied anything about abusive head trauma in
children or the injuries that could be caused to children by beating and hard
shaking, extremely hard shaking?
A. No. I'm very aware of head injury because of the situation I got into and
I've done an extensive amount of reading since then. And if I were to do
things differently with my own children today, if they were young, I might
handle things differently, being more protective of the head.
Veniremember
Rick Langley by
Doug Lowe of the
prosecution – more
about older
children
It appears that the
“Q” and “A” are
out of place in the
transcript
Vol.
11,
67-
68
Q. Have you ever heard of shaken baby syndrome?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. Okay. Is there anything, and quite frankly the evidence may be
submitted during the case, that that's an element that's involved in this case.
What have you heard about that shaken baby syndrome?
A. I just know that it's when a baby is handled in the wrong way that
somehow or another it dislodges the brain or it's my understanding that
that's how it works. And I think it can happen intentionally and it can
happen-- I mean I have seen my son-in-laws and, you know, family
members handle kids in a way that I said, 'Don't do that. You're going to
hurt that child. You don't realize what you can do to that child.' And them
not know it.
Veniremember Ida
Liz Missildine by
Stephen Evans of
the defense with no
mention by
prosecution
Vol.
11,
115-
16
Q. Have you ever-- You never have shook a child to the
point where the child loses consciousness?
A. Well, I used the paddle and part of that was the reason my dad, when
you got it from him you heard the belt immediately. And so what I did is I
made myself a paddle and if I was mad enough to spank my kids, I'd make
them go and find the paddle for me and bring it to me, which it would take
Veniremember
Steven E.
Cubstead by Doug
Lowe of the
prosecution.