County Prosecutor Awaits Word from State on Gingerich Appeal
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Jordan Fouts-
Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton is waiting to learn if he’ll be seeing Paul Gingerich again. The Indiana Court of Appeals Tuesday overturned the conviction of Gingerich, now 14, for his involvement in the 2010 shooting death of Philip Danner in the man’s Cromwell home. Gingerich, along with then-15-year-old Colt Lundy, pleaded guilty after being waived out of the juvenile court system. The state appeals court ruled that in deciding Gingerich would be tried as an adult, Kosciusko County Superior I Judge Duane Huffer violated his due process rights. The state judges’ ruling notes that Gingerich’s defense was given only four business days to prepare, that they were not given time to perform a mental health evaluation before the waiver, and that multiple requests for more time were denied. “The proceedings here bear all the hallmarks of a perfunctory proceeding and not the careful proceeding our constitutions demand,” the judges wrote in their decision. “(W)e conclude that Gingerich’s counsel did not have sufficient time to prepare and that he was prejudiced. In so holding, we note that Gingerich on appeal identified specific instances in which his lack of time to prepare prejudiced him at the waiver hearing.” Based on a July 2010 examination of Gingerich by clinical psychologist Stephen Ross, then-defense attorney William Cohen cited diminished capacity in an appeal of the waiver to adult court later that year. Cohen argued that Gingerich did not have the mental capacity to form the intent to commit murder. Hampton said Wednesday he is waiting to hear from the State Attorney General’s office if the appeal will be taken to the Indiana Supreme Court or if the trial process will start over in the Kosciusko County juvenile system. “I’m waiting to see where I get involved,” Hampton said, noting he expects the call in the next few days. “Right now Gingerich stays where he is ’til all that’s in process.” Gingerich is currently in the Pendleton, Ind., juvenile facility. Both county judges Huffer and Rex Reed, who oversaw Gingerich’s trial as an adult, declined to comment on the appeals court ruling.
