A man who threw an eight-month-old baby to the ground—causing serious injuries—was originally sentenced to eight years in prison. However, the Supreme Court has overturned that verdict, questioning the status of two judges who had previously ruled on the case.
“On Tuesday, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict and referred the case back to the Court of Appeal in Białystok,” the Supreme Court’s press office reported. At the same time, the court ordered the defendant to be placed in temporary custody.
He Abused the Child—Now He Might Be Laughing at the Court
The proceedings involve charges of abuse—between April and May 2022—and attempted murder of an infant. At the time, the defendant was living in a rented apartment in Bartoszyce (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship) with his partner and her several-month-old son. Occasionally, the mother left the child in his care.
According to investigators, on May 6, 2022, during one such absence, the then-nearly eight-month-old boy was thrown to the floor with great force, resulting in very serious, life-threatening head injuries. Prosecutors argued that this constituted attempted murder carried out with “eventual intent” and filed charges accordingly.
In December 2023, the Regional Court in Olsztyn found the defendant guilty of causing serious injury to the child—though not of attempted murder—and sentenced him to eight years in prison. He was also ordered to pay PLN 80,000 (around 80,000 złoty) in partial compensation. The court further convicted him of physically abusing the infant through beating and rough handling.
In June of last year, the Court of Appeal in Białystok considered appeals from both sides. The prosecution sought a harsher sentence of 25 years in prison, while the defense requested acquittal on the abuse charge, a lighter sentence for causing injury, and a significantly reduced compensation amount.
Ultimately, the Court of Appeal rejected both appeals as groundless and made only a minor adjustment to the description of the offense. It upheld the first court’s legal assessment that, while the perpetrator had used great force, it did not rise to the level of intent to kill; instead, it was classified as causing grievous bodily harm.
Questionable Judicial Appointments
The Supreme Court took up the cassation appeal filed by the defense attorney, who argued that the second-instance court—the appellate panel in Białystok—had been “improperly constituted.” Specifically, the defense cited the nomination of two judges by the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), which certain segments of the legal community do not recognize. In reviewing these nominations, the Supreme Court accepted documents related to the judges’ appointments under the 2017 law governing the KRS as part of the evidence.
After overturning the verdict on what it called a “strict appellate ground,” the Supreme Court—acting on a prosecutor’s motion—ordered the defendant’s detention for three months. With the second-instance ruling now set aside, the decision from the Olsztyn Regional Court is once again not final.