North Dakota v. Thorsteinson
Annotate this CaseAustin Thorsteinson was convicted by jury of felony child abuse. In November 2016, a two-year-old child in Thorsteinson’s care suffered injuries that caused bleeding on the brain. A subsequent surgery removed part of the child’s skull to relieve pressure. The child suffered a stroke during hospitalization and tests indicated a portion of the child’s brain will not recover from the injury. Thorsteinson said the injury was from an accidental fall while he was holding the child. He told police the injury resulted from the impact between the child’s head and a hard object in the path of the fall. Thorsteinson argued on appeal the district court erred by admitting evidence of alleged prior bad acts. Thorsteinson further argued the district court failed to give adequate jury instructions on the definition of reckless conduct. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.