US EditionConviction Against Ex-UCLA Gynecologist James Heaps Overturned, Appeals Court Orders Retrial
The conviction was overturned due to a juror's insufficient English proficiency, and UCLA paid nearly $700 million in related lawsuit settlements, the court ruled.
- On Monday, a three-justice panel of California's 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed James Mason Heaps's conviction and ordered the case sent back for retrial.
- A foreman's note flagging limited English prompted appellate scrutiny after Juror No. 15's substitution, but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Carter did not inform defense counsel, denying a fair trial.
- Heaps pleaded not guilty to a 21-count indictment and in October 2022 a jury convicted him of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration.
- He surrendered his medical license in March 2023, and state prison records show Heaps is held at the California Correctional Training Facility in Soledad; the court rejected bail during appeal.
- Amid the ruling, UCLA paid nearly $700 million in payouts for over 6,000 patients, including a $374 million settlement involving 312 former patients, following more than 500 lawsuits.
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82 Articles
LancasterOnline
Lawyers for patients of UCLA doctor say clients shaken by court overturning his sex abuse conviction
A California appeals court's decision to overturn the sex abuse conviction of former University of California, Los Angeles, gynecologist James Heaps has left his victims devastated and legal experts puzzled by the type of judicial error that transpired. The panel's…
Panel tosses ex-UCLA doctor's sex abuse conviction; lawyers weren't told of juror's 'limited English'
In October 2022, after a two-month jury trial, UCLA doctor James Heaps was convicted of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration involving two patients. That conviction has been overturned.
A California appeals court overturned the conviction of a former gynaecologist at the University of California campus in Los Angeles on sexual abuse charges. James Heaps was sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison for sexually abusing patients. In October 2022, he was convicted of three counts of sexual assault for fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of two patients. Monday’s ruling ordered the referral of the case for a new trial.
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