HAMILTON — Something horrible happened to Draven Howard before he was 3 months old.

        As a result, he has vision problems, may have some level of mental retardation and “this little boy will never be the same,” said Steve Tolbert, a Butler County assistant prosecutor.

        A jury of four women and eight men is being asked to decide whether Draven's father, James Neil Howard, 28, abused his son — an allegedly shaken baby — or wheth er the Hamilton child suffered escalating medical problems stemming from a difficult birth.

        Mr. Howard's trial on two felony child-endangering charges began Monday, more than a year after his indictment in a controversial case that has forced new debate on “shaken baby syndrome” in Butler County. The trial, before Judge Keith Spaeth, could last up to two weeks, officials said.

        Mr. Howard, a laborer who faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted, has steadfastly protested his innocence. His lawyer, Mi chael Shanks, argues that doctors who said Draven was shaken failed to consider the possibility of birth trauma. The child's birth records document external head injuries from failed forceps and vacuum extraction attempts. Draven, born in January 2000, was diagnosed with head injuries when he was 2 1/2 months old. Mr. Howard is accused of hurting his son in late March or early April last year.

        “There really is a dispute if anyone hurt (Mr. How ard's) son or not,” Mr. Shanks said during opening statements Monday. He said doctors also disagree on when Draven's injuries happened, making it difficult to tell who could have been with Draven at the time of his injuries. The injuries, Mr. Shanks said, date back “days, weeks or months,” not hours.

        Mr. Tolbert, however, told the jury he intends to present compelling evidence that Draven was abused - and that Mr. Howard did it.

        He pointed out that Mr. Howard was the only adult with Draven when the child developed breathing problems on April 1 and April 4 last year. Mr. Tolbert also said doctors will testify that the child suffered “a recent severe brain injury” and tests showed the retinas in the back of his eyes “were full of blood and split.” An ophthalmologist is expected to testify that “nothing but a shaking could have done this,” Mr. Tolbert said.

        Mr. Shanks said he doubts the testimony will be so clear-cut.

        There is a “serious dispute” about what really happened to Draven, Mr. Shanks said, and the absence of any external trauma raises a question whether the child was abused by anyone. “At no time did one doctor find one external mark anywhere on Draven Howard” — except those immediately after his birth, Mr. Shanks said.

        Dr. Jerry Kripal, the sole witness to testify Monday, remembered Draven being brought to the emergency room of the now-defunct Mercy Hospital Hamilton on April 1, 2000. He said the child had suffered an apparent life-threatening event, but it wasn't obvious what had caused the problem; it could have been a seizure.

        Dr. Kripal said he looked for bruises and other external injuries, but found none on Draven. He also noted no sign of internal head injury.

        He also said, however, that Mr. Howard said “He shook (Draven) — gently shook him — and blew in his face” to try to revive him, Dr. Kripal said.

        That kind of remark, Mr. Tolbert suggested, raises suspicion that Mr. Howard may have shaken the child violently. Mr. Shanks said prosecutors were exaggerating the significance of such statements.

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