Man’s constitutional rights violated when jail staff failed to take him to trial, appeals court rules

The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a conviction for felony neglect of a dependent after jail staff failed to bring the defendant to court for the third day of his trial.

The appeals court also said in an Oct. 1 opinion that it was remanding the case of Tremain Vanness Cabell back to Vanderburgh Circuit Court for further proceedings.

Cabell was brought to trial in August 2025 after being charged with neglect of a dependent and domestic battery with serious bodily injury to a person under 14 years old. The case centered on his treatment of his medically fragile child.

Vanderburgh County Jail staff took Cabell to the first two days of his trial. But before the trial’s third day started, he asked to be returned to his cell to avoid injury after a violent encounter with jail staff.  They then refused to let the defendant out of his cell or communicate with his attorney to get to court, the appeals court opinion states.  .

The trial proceeded in his absence, with prosecutors stating that Cabell voluntarily missed the third day.

The appellate court determined that the trial court’s statement to the jury that Cabell willingly missed day three deepened the prejudice against Cabell and, his absence didn’t allow him to contest witness accounts against him, the opinion states.

The appellate court also noted that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantee defendants the right to be present at all stages of their trials.

Because Cabell’s state and federal constitutional rights were violated, the court of appeals reversed his conviction for felony neglect of a dependent. The court noted that the case is not barred from a retrial because the conviction was reversed for a reason other than the sufficiency of evidence.

The case is Tremain Vanness Cabell v. State of Indiana, 25A-CR-2719.