VERDICT FOR STACY SCHULER SEXUAL BATTERY CASE EXPECTED TODAY

On Thursday, October 27th, 2011, the Stacy Schuler trial is expected to conclude.  Judge Robert Peeler will give the verdict following the closing arguments of both the State and the defense.  It is expected that the State will call its own expert witness to rebut the expert testimony provided by the defense yesterday.  A forensic psychologist and/or toxicologist will testify that Ms. Schuler was not insane at the time of the alleged acts and that she could comprehend the difference between right and wrong.  Yesterday, the defense provided two expert witnesses that claimed Stacy Schuler was insane at the time of the alleged acts due to a combination of health problems, Zoloft, and alcohol.  The ‘SSRI Defense’, as it is being called, has been utilized approximately fifteen times during the last year in American courts – it has never succeeded.  These experts based their testimony on evidence that anti-depressants mixed with alcohol can cause mania, increased sexual desire, and memory loss.  As this is a bench trial, Judge Peeler will decide whether Ms. Schuler is guilty of sixteen counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors.  Schuler is facing over eighty years in prison if convicted on all counts.