MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) - Attorneys for a former high school cheerleader charged with killing and burying her newborn baby want Ohio’s Supreme Court to hear an appeal over testimony by doctors in the case.
Attorneys for 19-year-old Brooke Skylar Richardson recently asked the high court to hear their appeal of a district court’s ruling that prosecutors can present testimony from an obstetrics-gynecology practice’s medical staff.
The defense argues doctors shouldn’t be allowed to testify, citing physician-patient privilege.
The appeals court ruled that public interest in detecting crimes to protect society outweighed doctor-patient privilege in this case.
Authorities first learned of the baby from a doctor.
Prosecutors have 30 days to respond before the Supreme Court decides if it has jurisdiction to take the case.
Richardson’s trial is on hold in southwestern Ohio’s Warren County.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.