By Billy Davis

The state Court of Appeals case for a Batesville woman, scheduled for Thursday, has been moved to a February date on the court docket.

Oral arguments in Amy Marie Lenard vs. State of Mississippi have been rescheduled for February 2, said a court spokesman.

Attorney Stewart Guernsey of Water Valley is representing Lenard in the appeals case.

Lenard was convicted in 2008 for child neglect, when jurors agreed she should have sought immediate medical attention after her son, now three years old, was severely burned by hot bath water.

Circuit Judge Jimmy McClure sentenced Lenard to five years in prison, with three years to serve. She is presently free pending the appeal.

The child, who recovered from the injuries, was eventually transferred to the burn unit at Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis.

Guernsey, citing two main arguments, said he plans to argue that McClure should have recused himself from the case and that McClure gave improper instructions to jurors.

Deirdre McCrory, with the Mississippi attorney general’s office, is arguing on behalf of the state.