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Motion to dismiss Amundson case denied

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Aaron Amundson

By Ted Pennekamp

 

On Aug. 7, Crawford County Circuit Court Judge Lynn Rider denied a motion by defense attorney Corey Chirafisi to dismiss the bindover ruling made at the preliminary hearing for Aaron Amundson. 

Amundson, 43, the principal at Bluff View Intermediate School, is charged with one count of child abuse-recklessly causing harm for allegedly applying a chemical to a 14-year-old boy’s hand which caused a burn to the hand.

In her written denial, Rider said, “The court has considered the defendant’s motion to dismiss bindover, including reviewing the motion and transcript submitted by the defendant and the state’s response. The comments that the court made at the time of the preliminary hearing reflect that the decision to bind over was not an easy decision for the court. My comments could have been worded more eloquently. However, upon further consideration, I find that bind over was appropriate. If the evidence was construed in the light most favorable to the state, there would be sufficient evidence that a jury could find that the defendant recklessly caused bodily harm. The defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied.”

During the preliminary hearing on May 31, a motion by the defense to dismiss the case was denied by Judge Rider and Amundson was bound over for trial.

During the May 31 preliminary hearing, Rider said she couldn’t find any evidence that a felony was committed, after having reviewed case law. Rider also said, however, that deference has to be given to the state with regard to the evidence. She then ruled that the proper procedure would be to bind the case over for future court proceedings and let the “fact finders” (jury) decide what the evidence means.

Now that the motion to dismiss the bindover ruling from the May 31 preliminary hearing has been denied, the case will proceed. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 15 in Crawford County Circuit Court. Jury selection and the trial are scheduled to begin on Aug. 21 at 9 a.m. The dates of Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 have also been scheduled for the trial if needed.

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