Bei Bei Shuai v. State, 966 N.E.2d 619

Shuai was thirty-three weeks pregnant and attempted suicide by ingesting rat poison in December 2010 after a relationship ended.
She gave birth to A.S. via emergency C-section on December 31, 2010; A.S. died January 3, 2011 from complications including intraventricular hemorrhage.
The coroner attributed A.S.’s death to maternal rat poison ingestion; Shuai was charged March 2011 with murder and attempted feticide.
The trial court denied Shuai bail and denied a motion to dismiss; the orders were interlocutorily appealed and consolidated.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the bail denial, affirmed the dismissal-denial ruling, and remanded for further proceedings; this opinion addresses these issues on appeal.
The court concludes Shuai rebutted the presumption against bail but declines to dismiss the information, upholding the murder statute’s application to her conduct while remanding for bail determination.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying bail	Shuai rebutted the presumption of guilt with evidence supporting alternative explanations.	The State argued the proof of guilt was evident and the presumption strong due to the death of a viable fetus.	Abuse of discretion; bail reversed and remanded for bail determination.
Whether the charging information was defective and could be dismissed	Shuai contends the information failed to allege a valid murder/feticide offense.	The State contends the information sufficiently alleged the elements of murder of a viable fetus.	Information sufficient; charging standards met; denial of dismissal affirmed.
Whether Shuai has common-law or statutory immunity to prosecution for prenatal conduct	Shuai argues prenatal conduct is immune from criminal prosecution under common law.	The State argues statutes apply to her conduct and that pre-birth acts can be charged.	Immunity not recognized; statutes apply; no common-law immunity; dismissal denied.

Bozovichar v. State, 230 Ind. 358 (1952) (presumption against bail in murder cases; burden shifts to defendant)
Rohr v. State, 917 N.E.2d 1277 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (abuse-of-discretion standard for reviewing bail rulings)
McCown v. State, 890 N.E.2d 752 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (abuse-of-discretion review for denial of dismissal; charging information standard)
Delagrange v. State, 951 N.E.2d 593 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (de novo review of statutory interpretation in dismissal context)
Moon v. State, 823 N.E.2d 710 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005) (State bears burden to prove all elements beyond a reasonable doubt)
Herron v. State, 729 N.E.2d 1008 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000) (pre-birth conduct generally not criminalized; common-law immunity discussion)