LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court has overturned the conviction of a former campus gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, on sex abuse charges.
James Heaps was sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison for sexually abusing female patients. Heaps was convicted in October 2022 of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of two patients.
The Monday ruling ordered the case to be sent back for retrial. A three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled Heaps was denied a fair trial because his defense counsel was not made aware of a note pointing out concerns that one juror lacked sufficient English to carry out their duties.
In the 31-page ruling, the appellate court panel noted that within about one hour of Juror No. 15’s substitution as a juror, concerns were raised about whether the person was qualified to be a juror. They also said the foreman wrote a note indicating that Juror No. 15 did not speak English well enough to participate in the deliberations.
The university made nearly $700 million in payouts over lawsuits connected to the allegations against Heaps.