N.J. Woman To Get New Hearing After Conviction For Leaving Small Child In Car Briefly

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Six years ago, a New Jersey mother left her 19-month-old in the car while she ran into the Middlesex Mall in South Plainfield for 5 or 10 minutes.

She was automatically found guilty of child abuse and neglect, but she appealed and has been granted a new hearing.

As WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola reported, attorney Sean Mirota said the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that his client – the mother identified by the initials E.D.O. – deserves a hearing and should not automatically be considered to have abused or neglected her child.

Listen to N.J. Woman To Get New Hearing After Conviction For Leaving Small Child In Car Briefly

"We are pleased that the court recognized that not all parenting mistakes are child abuse," Mirota said.

The little girl was sleeping in her car seat. The engine was running, and the windows were cracked as the mother ran into the mall.

Mirota looks forward to the hearing.

"E.D.O.'s one-time lapse in judgement does not warrant labeling her a child abuser for life," he said.

The incident happened in 2009. The girl is now 6, and was never taken away from her mother.