A teenager in New Mexico was charged with murder over a year ago after she allegedly threw her infant son, Alex Fierro, in a hospital trash can, but for now her trial isn't moving forward.
Alexee Trevizo was scheduled for pre-trial on Tuesday; however, it's been put on hold while the Supreme Court determines whether specific evidence can be used in this case, reported KOAT News.
Trevizo, 20, was still a teenager when her child was found dead in a bathroom trash can by staff at Artesia General Hospital in January 2023, according to NewsWest9.
In June, a district court ruled in Trevizo's favor after deciding to suppress all statements made by the teen to her medical providers due to doctor-patient privilege, as well as all statements made by Trevizo to her doctor in front of police.
The doctor in question has even been accused of acting as a police agent, according to court documents.
"It was just wrong. I mean, all of us want to protect, or should want to wish to protect, our medical history. It's not something we want broadcast to the rest of the state, and hers was broadcast not just to the rest of the state but to the rest of the world," said Gary Mitchell, Trevizo's lawyer.
Mitchell told the news outlet that these conversations should have been protected and has since organized a lawsuit against the hospital for malpractice.
"According to our experts, the baby didn't have a chance of survival and didn't survive. The morphine and the negligence of the hospital was the direct and true cause of death," he added.
"I found videos taken at the hospital. I found records from the hospital, I found interviews of doctors and nurses-one doctor and several nurses-at the hospital. I couldn't believe the violation that I saw," Mitchell stressed.
Dianna Luce, the district attorney on the case, doesn't see it that way and appealed the ruling, stating privilege was waived when the teen continued to make statements in the presence of her mother and officers in the room.
Mitchell believes the Supreme Court's decision played a bigger role than just this case.
"If the state is successful in this case and gets that overturned by our New Mexico Supreme Court, women's rights in the state of New Mexico, protecting the right of confidential medical advice, confidential medical treatment, will go by the wayside. So, it is a critical issue for the women of the state of New Mexico," Mitchell said.
While the Supreme Court has unlimited time to decide whether or not they'll overturn the ruling, Mitchell suspects it may take a few months.
