Both shocking and concerning, the recent incidents of children dying after being left unattended in vehicles is a topic near and dear to many Americans. Tuesday July 15th, Patrick McDonough was asked to join the Nancy Grace Show as an expert defense attorney to offer his insights on these recent tragedies and explain the potential outcomes of these criminal cases. Filling in for Nancy Grace, Jean Casarez facilitated discussion surrounding these latest cases.
Cooper, a 22-month-old baby boy was left for dead in his father’s car after a long, hot summer day. Cooper’s father, Justin Harris, is currently imprisoned, waiting for what will most likely lead to a Grand Jury Trial. However, if the District Attorney’s Office does not make an indictment in the next 62 days, Harris may walk on bond. While many are focused on the potential conclusion of Harris’s case, Casarez looked to McDonough for his unique insight as to what might happen to Leanna, Cooper’s mother.
McDonough told Casarez that the DA’s Office will be conducting a rigorous investigation along with the Cobb County Police Department to determine the association that Leanna had in conjunction with this heartbreaking death. Employing a wealth of knowledge and a plethora of legal experience, McDonough explained to listeners that it is simply “too early to tell” what will happen to Leanna. While authorities were busy gathering evidence against Leanna, McDonough offered a unique perspective on the challenges the state faces in charging Leanna:
If authorities decide to indict Leanna and she becomes a co-defendant, she could invoke her 5th amendment and the prosecution would not be able to use testimony against her husband. “They’ve got a balancing test that they are weighing. First, do they have enough evidence to arrest her – which it doesn’t appear that they do at this time. And second, if its close, do they even want to go that route?”
Next, Mr. McDonough was asked to weigh in on his opinion concerning another disastrous case in which a father left his 3-month-old child in the car to die. While there are two sides to every story, McDonough dissected the facts, analyzed the situation, and communicated the important balance of justice when dealing with emotional cases such as the one at hand.
While court officials have claimed his statements to be inaccurate, the Forest Park, Georgia resident was allegedly told he was not allowed to have his child with him when he entered the Clayton County Courthouse Monday afternoon. Based on this understanding, Courtney Lamont Kidd took his daughter back to his vehicle and proceeded to attend his court hearing. While many are quick to attack Kidd for his actions, McDonough offers a logical and reasonable justification for people like Courtney.
While he believes these stories are positively raising awareness for child safety, McDonough knows, “It was still a poor choice and he should have tried to make other arrangements, but he’s facing and bench warrant if he doesn’t go to court.” In McDonough’s long tenure as a highly proficient defense attorney, he understands that some people think they can just run in, sign a guilty plea, and be done. McDonough has seen this in the past and has also represented clients similar to Kidd in the past – “god-fearing, wonderful, good people” who sometimes think ‘Hey, I can just go in quickly and get something done and come back out.” Kidd is one of these people – a good man who simply made a mistake – and even worse, he was trying to obey the rules.
Andersen, Tate & Carr, P.C. 
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