Mistrial declared in case against ex-Washtenaw Intermediate School District teaching assistant
The jury trial for a former Washtenaw Intermediate School District employee accused of child abuse came to a sudden end this afternoon when Judge David Swartz granted a mistrial.
The judge’s decision came minutes after testimony alleging Michael Beasley slapped special education students and bent a special education student's thumb back to force the student to remain seated in October 2008.
Michael Beasley
During that testimony, Amy Carns, the former teacher who ran the classroom in which Beasley served as a teaching assistant, mentioned on the stand the WISD had fired Beasley.
That decision is currently in arbitration.
Earlier, Swartz granted a defense motion barring any mention of Beasley’s termination on the grounds that it would prejudice the jury. Beasley faces two charges of third-degree child abuse and two charges of assault/battery. He has pleaded not guilty.
Under aggressive cross-examination from Beasley's attorney, Douglas Mullkoff, Carns mentioned at the end of an answer that Beasley had been fired.
“It was her way of getting a zinger in there,” Swartz said in his ruling. “Clearly, it prejudices the case.”
Swartz said if jurors were wavering in whether to find Beasley guilty, they could look at the decision by the district and use that in their decision-making.
“In the court’s opinion, it was gratuitous and clearly prejudicial,” Swartz said.
Before a mistrial was declared, the parents of two students testified briefly about their children’s disabilities. One mom broke down in tears as she described how raising her middle-school aged child is like raising a toddler.
Then Carns took the stand.
Carns was the teacher in a special education classroom run by the WISD, but housed in Ann Arbor’s Scarlett Middle School during the 2008-09 school year. It was her first year in that classroom, and Carns took a new job after the school year.
Carns testified she saw Beasley hit students on several occasions.
During his cross-examination, Mullkoff tried to get Carns to admit she was looking for a reason to get rid of Beasley and had a personality conflict with him. Beasley had been in the same classroom the previous year and had more than a decade of experience working as a teacher assistant, Mullkoff said.
Mullkoff also asked Carns whether she followed state law by notifying Child Protective Services of the alleged abuse. Carns testified she was told by her supervisors at the WISD not to call. One of those supervisors resigned, and the other was voluntarily reassigned.
Following the mistrial, the case was sent back to the pretrial stage. A hearing was set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 7.
David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.
Comments
LGChelsea
Tue, Dec 8, 2009 : 9:44 p.m.
PBQueen- It sounds like you have a personal beef with A2 special ed. teachers. Please state facts about teachers not being properly trained for their positions. As far as the reputation of the Ann Arbor Public Schools special ed. program, I have heard just the opposite. In fact, I know of several families who have moved to Ann Arbor from other areas in Michigan specifically for the program. I also have a relative who moved from the east coast to Ann Arbor for special education services for their disabled child. I'd like to know where you're getting your information.
shescountry624
Tue, Dec 8, 2009 : 9:34 a.m.
PB...Lenawee County Special Education services are no better and with all the State budget cuts it is going to get much worse. We had a simular situation here but with a teacher but the aides in the classroom would not come forward because of the bullying from the administration that if you say anything you will be fired! So the police would/could not do anything because no one would come forward.
Foote
Mon, Dec 7, 2009 : 10:50 p.m.
Thank you for comment PB. I was wondering when you stated that Ann Arbor special ed teachers have a poor reputation around the state, were you also commenting on the organization that employed Mr. Beasley, WISD? They are different entities. What do you know of the reputations of these organizations?
PBQUEEN
Mon, Dec 7, 2009 : 10:24 p.m.
It will be interesting to see what happens at the new trial. Ann Arbor's special education program has a terrible reputation around the state. Teachers are not properly trained for the positions they are put in, and it has been close to impossible to maintain administration staff for more than a couple of years. Whether or not Mr. Beasley did what he is accused of remains to be seen, but it is really the entire special education system that should be on trial.