Court affirms Joshua Burns' child abuse conviction

The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a former Livingston County father’s conviction for child abuse.

Joshua Quincy Burns, who moved to Colorado earlier this year to seek employment, was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to county jail and probation for abusing his then-infant daughter.

Burns’ appeals attorney argued that his trial court attorney was not effective because he failed to object to testimony regarding his daughter’s retinal hemorrhages and did not adequately respond to the admission of an e-mail exchange between the prosecution’s expert and another doctor whom the expert consulted.

Burns’ attorney also argued that the trial court erred in denying a motion seeking a direct verdict from the judge.

The appeals court agreed that there was a “lack of direct evidence linking” Burns’ to his daughter’s injuries, but said the evidence did support “an inference” that he committed a “reckless act that caused serious physical harm to the infant.”

“We’re pleased with the Court of Appeal’s opinion," Prosecutor William Vailliencourt said Wednesday. "It was thorough and thoughtful.”

Burns' attorney, David Moran, of the University of Michigan Law School's Innocence Clinic, said his office is disappointed the appeals court did not remand the case to Circuit Court for a hearing on the validity of the science the state's expert relied on. He said the legal team will ask the Michigan Supreme Court to hear the case.

"This case is really outrageous," he said, adding that there is "no evidence" Burns injured his daughter.

Burns’ daughter has since recovered.

Burns’ attorney also argued that the trial court erred in denying a motion seeking a direct verdict from the judge.

The appeals court agreed that there was a “lack of direct evidence linking” Burns’ to his daughter’s injuries, but said the evidence did support “an inference” that he committed a “reckless act that caused serious physical harm to the infant.”

“We’re pleased with the Court of Appeal’s opinion," Prosecutor William Vailliencourt said Wednesday. "It was thorough and thoughtful.”

Burns' attorney, David Moran, of the University of Michigan Law School's Innocence Clinic, said his office is disappointed the appeals court did not remand the case to Circuit Court for a hearing on the validity of the science the state's expert relied on. He said the legal team will ask the Michigan Supreme Court to hear the case.

"This case is really outrageous," he said, adding that there is "no evidence" Burns injured his daughter.

Burns’ daughter has since recovered.

Joshua Burns’ testified that he was feeding his daughter when he took a phone call from his wife, who was at a hairdresser appointment. He said, as he put the phone down, Naomi Burns began to slip from his hold and he grabbed her face with his right hand to stop her from hitting a coffee table.

At trial, the prosecution argued Joshua Burns, who was home alone with his daughter, caused the injuries, but both he and his wife maintain their daughter's medical conditions were the result of birth trauma.

One of the prosecution witnesses, Dr. Bethany Mohr, testified that Naomi Burns' symptoms were "close to 100 percent" indicative of abuse, and the appeals court ruled the statement is too broad. However, the court noted that the defense does not present sufficient scientific literature that supports the position Mohr's statement is inconsistent with generally accepted scientific principles and methods.

Moran said Mohr's alleged evidence has traditionally been considered shaken baby syndrome, but there is a growing shift that says "there is no scientific basis for the testimony Dr. Mohr has given."

"I'm very confident within a few years nobody will, with a straight face, defend shaken baby syndrome," he said. "Dr. Mohr's testimony was pure shaken baby syndrome."

The prosecution argued at trial that Naomi Burns' medical issues were the result of abusive head trauma, which Moran said is a new term for shaken baby syndrome.

Joshua Burns was convicted in a criminal trial of second-degree child abuse and was subsequently sentenced to three years of probation with the first year in the Livingston County Jail.

He was also found responsible for his daughter's injuries in a separate civil trial brought forward based on allegations filed by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services.

The University of Michigan Law School's Innocence Clinic has represented Burns throughout his post-conviction court appearances.

During and after both trials, a number of supporters took to the Internet on the Burns family’s behalf and rallied outside the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, questioning the way medical evidence was gathered and interpreted. His case also was featured on the Dr. Phil show.

The local court agreed to terminate its jurisdiction over the girl on June 7.

Contact Livingston Daily justice reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or lrchurch@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaRooseChurch.