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Article • April 15, 2024 • from CLN April, 2024
Crime Scene Context: Bridging the Gap Between Evidence and Reconstruction by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott F.D. Zigan, a veteran crime scene investigator who specializes in fingerprint analysis for the Roswell Police Department in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, writes about the disconnect between evidence collection and scene reconstruction in …
One Solution to Jurors Giving Too Much Weight to Improper Forensic Testimony: 4-Minute Training Video Based on DOJ Guidelines by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Improper forensic evidence played a part in 1 out of 5 wrongful convictions listed in the National Registry of Exonerations as of September 2023. Studies …
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Maryland (formerly known as the Court of Appeals of Maryland) held that the methodology …
Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023
Seventh Circuit: State Court Decision Not Entitled to AEDPA Deference Due to Incorrect Legal Standard, Pro Se Habeas Petition Granted Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present Expert Witness on Determinative Issue of Guilt Resulting in IAC by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Berrett The U.S. Court of Appeals for the …
California Court of Appeal Announces the People Are Not Entitled to Have Privately Retained Psychological Expert Testify at Trial of SVPA Petition by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, held that the Sexually Violent Predator Act, Welf. & Inst. Code § 6600 …
Article • March 15, 2021 • from CLN April, 2021
Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Officer Testified as Expert on Child Sexual Abuse Without First Being Qualified and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 Overruled Dunkle by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a police officer testified as an expert without first being qualified by the court at …
Article • June 15, 2020 • from CLN July, 2020
Filed under: Expert Witnesses
Biden Accuser Accused of Inflating Credentials to Qualify as Expert Witness, Calling Convictions into Question by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna Tara Reade, who has accused presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when she worked for him as an aide, now faces accusations that …
Article • November 19, 2019 • from CLN December, 2019
Filed under: Expert Witnesses
Michigan Supreme Court Reverses Criminal Sexual Conduct Convictions in Two Consolidated Cases Due to Improperly Admitted Expert Testimony by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Michigan reversed convictions for criminal sexual conduct in two consolidated cases due to improperly admitted testimony of expert witnesses. Joshua Thorpe was …
Article • July 30, 2019
Scientific Experts Urge Forensic Experts to Be More Objective by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Scientific experts have long relied on objectivity to reach conclusions—the ability to prove repeatedly the outcome of an analysis no matter who’s doing the analysis. Forensics experts, on the other hand, have long relied on …
Article • June 22, 2019
Study Questions the Reliance on Comparison Testimony at Trial by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell  The FBI admitted that its hair-sample analysts were wrong 95 percent of the time when comparing hair samples in approximately 3,000 cases. This included 32 death penalty cases. A 2012 study by the Pennsylvania Innocence …
Article • March 16, 2019 • from CLN April, 2019
Supreme Court of Alaska Announces Court System Bears Costs of Expert Evaluation When Insanity or Diminished Capacity Raised as Defense by Chad Marks by Chad Marks The Supreme Court of Alaska held that a trial court was required under Alaska state law to appoint at least two qualified psychiatrists or …
Article • February 14, 2019 • from CLN March, 2019
Filed under: Expert Witnesses
Ninth Circuit Announces Expert Testimony on Battered Woman Syndrome Not Categorically Excludable, Relevant to Duress Defense by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated Lashay Lopez’s three convictions on federal charges, ruling that the trial court committed prejudicial error in excluding expert …
Article • December 28, 2018 • from CLN January, 2019
Oregon Supreme Court: ‘Grooming’ Evidence Requires Scientific Validity Foundation by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The Supreme Court of Oregon held that expert testimony about “grooming” children for subsequent sexual abuse is “scientific” evidence that may not be admitted without a foundational showing of scientific validity under Or. Evid. Code …
Article • December 28, 2018 • from CLN January, 2019
Harris County, Texas Prosecutors Review DWI Cases Impacted by Discredited Expert by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna The testimony of county scientist Fessessework Guale, who was employed by the Harris County medical examiner’s office for 10 years, has been called into question by the very criminal justice offices who relied …
Article • December 5, 2018 • from CLN December, 2018
Michigan Supreme Court Announces New Rule for Appointing Expert Witness for Indigent Defendants, No Longer Left to Trial Judge’s Discretion by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Supreme Court of Michigan held that a trial judge’s discretion plays no part in appointing an expert witness for a defendant; instead, a …
Article • June 18, 2018 • from CLN July, 2018
Idaho Supreme Court Orders Acquittal for Insufficient Identification of Drug by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On March 2, 2018, the Supreme Court of Idaho vacated a prisoner’s conviction and sentence for possession of a controlled substance and ordered an acquittal because the substance she possessed had not been adequately …
Article • June 18, 2018 • from CLN July, 2018
California Supreme Court Vacates Conviction and Death Sentence After Experts Recant Testimony by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Supreme Court of California granted a writ of habeas corpus and vacated a first-degree murder conviction and death sentence after several of the experts who testified at trial recanted their testimony …
Article • April 19, 2018 • from CLN May, 2018
California Supreme Court Grants Habeas Petition and Vacates Capital Murder Conviction Due to False Expert Testimony at Trial by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of California granted a death row prisoner’s petition for writ of habeas corpus based upon the introduction of false evidence at trial and …
Article • December 19, 2017
Testimony of Expert Witness Excluded by David Reutter by David Reutter A Louisiana federal district court excluded the expert testimony of Dr. David Thomas in a class action brought by Louisiana prisoners who alleged substandard medical care. Joseph Lewis, Jr. sued the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) alleging violations of his …
Article • December 19, 2017 • from CLN January, 2018
Filed under: Searches, Expert Witnesses
Ninth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment on Unreasonable Seizure Claim by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of unreasonable seizure and First Amendment violation claims. The Court held that there were disputed issues of material fact on whether police had …
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