Articles Posted in Experts

Eyewitness Memory for People and Events (Chapter 25) Gary L. Wells Iowa State University, Department of Psychology Elizabeth F. Loftus University of California, Irvine – Department of Psychology and Social Behavior January 16, 2013 Handbook of Psychology, Vol. 11, 2013, Forensic Psychology, Chapter 25, R.K. Otto and & I.B. Weiner (Eds), Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley…

I have mentioned this article before, Michael D. Risinger, Navigating Expert Reliability: Are Criminal Standards of Certainty Being Left in the Dock?, 64 ALBANY L. REV. 99 (2000). The basic theme: This article shows that, as to proffers of asserted expert testimony, civil defendants win their Daubert reliability challenges to plaintiffs’ proffers most of the…

Here is a link to a useful site all about DNA. And here is a link to the NIJ forensics site.

The Supreme Court of Oregon has revisited its 30-year old rule that allowed for admission of eyewitness identification resulting from “unduly suggestive pretrial identification procedures.” State v. Lawson consolidates two cases on the same issue, and decides en banc to recognize significant changes in the understanding and science of eyewitness identification. The court discussed State…

Here is an interesting case from the First, United States v. Cameron, decided 14 November 2012. The issue is confrontation and the admission of various internet provider records. I think this case helpful in litigating the paper that the prosecution seeks to use in CP cases. We thus presume that Cameron’s challenge is to the…

Occasionally there is a case involving bite mark evidence and testimony. This type of testimony is subject to challenge under Houser. Here I am talking about a case where the bite mark testimony goes to prove the identity of the accused. So, to that end the defense needs resources to challenge admissibility of the evidence…

Except in a slightly different context, but still a similar point. Errin Morris, Cognitive Biasl and Evaluation of Forensic Evidence, The Champion, NACDL, May 2012. Remember, USACIL and all the others get a full brief sheet on why the evidence should be tested and lots of facts. The subsequent testing is not done in the…

Well, I use Wikipedia for research. But, I use it “in some limited situations . . . for getting a sense of a term’s common usage.” Fire Insurance Exchange v. Oltman & Blackner, Case No. 201004262-CA, 2012 UT App 230 (Utah App. 2012)(discussing the uses and reliability of Wikipedia as a source of information). See…

Maybe not. There is quite a bit of research and anecdotal evidence to show that eyewitness testimony can be unreliable. Now New Jersey is in the frontline of making sure a jury is aware of the potential problems with eyewitness testimony. To quote the ABA Journal. New jury instructions in New Jersey will warn that…

SBS has been subject to significant criticism, so the “experts” have changed it’s name to Abusive Head Trauma. But does a name change mean that the “syndrome” or “diagnosis” is any more real? Shaken Baby Syndrome, Abusive Head Trauma, and Actual Innocence: Getting It Right Keith A. Findley University of Wisconsin Law School Patrick David…