Judge stays in Wheaton abandonment case

A motion was rejected Wednesday to have Judge C. Stanley Austin replaced in the case of a woman who left her just-born baby in a Wheaton yard.

Judge Robert Anderson ruled that comments Austin has made were “in context and appropriate” and that there was “no evidence of actual prejudice against the natural mother.”

An attorney for Nunu Sung, whose son was found under a bush with his umbilical cord still attached on June 12, 2009, said at a juvenile court hearing Tuesday that Austin made “inaccurate and prejudicial” statements at previous hearings. Sung also had argued that Austin could no longer be considered objective after saying that he was not “particularly concerned with what's in the mother's best interests.”

But lawyers for the foster parents caring for the now-2-year-old child said Sung's legal team had taken Austin's remarks out of context.

An Oct. 19 hearing is scheduled that could end Sung's parental rights.

Sung is serving a three-year sentence for lying to police about her son's birth after striking a plea agreement in October 2010 in hopes of some day gaining custody. Sung is eligible for parole in January.

Police said Sung gave birth behind a garage near Crescent Street in Wheaton. A neighbor called 911 after he and his dog discovered the newborn nude and covered in dirt.