An Indiana Supreme Court ruling that overturned a battery conviction of a mother who bruised her son while whipping him as punishment has generated a lot of talk among local officials in the business of protecting children.
But local prosecutors said it does not appear the ruling is going to have a big impact on the way these cases are handled.
"I can't say we won't take this case into account, but I just don't see far-reaching effects," Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel said.
He does not believe the court significantly redefined the standards used to determine whether accusations of child abuse rise to the level of a criminal offense.
Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for the Lake County prosecutor's office, agreed.
She said each allegation of abuse is reviewed according to its own facts to determine if criminal charges are appropriate.
In its 4-1 ruling, the Indiana Supreme Court said Marion County resident Sophia Willis exercised a reasonable response to the ongoing problems created by her 11-year-old son.
After her son was caught Feb. 3, 2006, giving away her clothes at school, Willis sent him to her sister's home for a couple of days. After having a long conversation with the boy, during which time he attempted to shift the blame to others, she had him remove his pants and whipped him five to seven times with a belt or extension cord.
"We find nothing particularly degrading about this manner of punishment," the court said. "Nor, in context, is it readily apparent that the punishment was disproportionate to the offense."
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. cast the lone dissenting vote, saying the ruling will require the state to work that much harder to protect children from abuse.
Sullivan further warns the ruling amounts to a change in the state's policy toward child abuse and one that should have been left up to lawmakers and not the courts.
John Shanahan, an attorney for the Indiana Department of Child Services and a former Porter County Juvenile Court magistrate, said the ruling pertains to criminal cases and will not affect the civil approach used by his office.
He said the DCS will continue investigating reports of abuse and has a variety of responses available, ranging from parenting classes to removing children from a home.
