Status Conference Held in District Court for Sheridan Woman Charged With Felony Child Abuse

A virtual status conference was held Tuesday in Fourth Judicial District Court for a Sheridan woman whose jury trial was continued due to the pandemic. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

In November, the Wyoming Supreme Court issued an order suspending all scheduled jury trials in the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A status conference was held Tuesday for Marie Franks of Sheridan, who was scheduled to stand trial this week for the charge of Felony Child Abuse. The charge stems from an alleged incident that occurred on June 19 at a residence in Sheridan.  Since Franks has not waived her right to a speedy jury trial, District Court Judge John Fenn ruled that there was sufficient evidence to extend the jury trial date due to the Supreme Court ruling and the safety and health issues of holding a jury trial at this time.

Current Wyoming law states that a criminal defendant’s speedy trial deadline is within 180 days of arraignment, which is when a defendant enters their plea to the alleged crime, such as guilty or not guilty. Citing the uncertainty of the situation, Judge Fenn did not schedule a date for a new jury trial, but instead, said another status conference will be held in about a month to find out how negotiations are going between the prosecution and the defense on a possible plea agreement. If convicted, Franks faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.