Articles Posted in Experts

Thanks to CAAFLog, here is a link to the above report. Here are the most pertinent sections affecting military justice trial practitioners. SEC. 512. MEDICAL EXAMINATION REQUIRED BEFORE ADMINISTRATIVE SEPARATION OF MEMBERS DIAGNOSED WITH OR REASONABLY ASSERTING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER OR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. 1. Prior to administrative discharge a medical examination is required. [A]…

United States v. Brasington, ARMY 20060033 (A. Ct. Crim. App. 5 October 2009). On 10 September 2008, our superior court granted appellant’s petition for grant of review on the following issue: WHETHER APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL WHERE THE TRIAL DEFENSE COUNSEL ALLEGEDLY PROVIDED INCOMPETENT ADVICE REGARDING THE…

This is the name given to statistical errors that can arise when deciding the probability that a DNA sample is that of the accused. This is potentially more meaningful than usual to Troy Brown who was convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder. He has a twin brother. This transposition of the conditional probability can…

Did Iraq veteran’s PTSD spark his shoplifitng charge? By Julia O’Malley | Anchorage Daily News. Do you have client accused of shoplifting, a senior officer or senior enlisted perhaps, a really good person who no-one would have imagined as stealing from the Exchange? Can you explain that? For some years I have successfully argued from…

Here’s a useful and timely article. Hafemeister & Stockey on Criminal Responsibility of War Veterans with PTSD Thomas L. Hafemeister (University of Virginia School of Law) and Nicole A. Stockey have posted Last Stand? The Criminal Responsibility of War Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan W ith Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Indiana Law Journal, Forthcoming) on…

I’ve already noted that Briscoe is a very interesting follow-on to Melendez-Diaz about the use of forensic analysis reports at trial where the chemist is not called as a witness. See here, here, and here. Here is a link to the Brief just filed on behalf of the 07-11191 Briscoe v. Commonwealth of Virginia Brief…

ACCA has issued a Memorandum Opinion in United States v. Markis, ARMY 20070580 (A. Ct. Crim. App. 18 August 2009). Appellant had given three pre-trial admissions to CID. The defense sought to exclude the confessions as being coerced. The military judge permitted the defense to present expert testimony on coerced confessions, specifically it appears how…

Tenth Circuit Joins Consensus On Admissibility Of Fingerprint Evidence In conspiracy to possess marijuana and illegal firearm possession prosecution, expert fingerprint testimony identifying the defendant’s thumb print on guns and ammunition was admissible under FRE 702 and Daubert even though the defendant raised “questions regarding whether fingerprint analysis can be considered truly scientific in an…

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Concluding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the government to present expert evidence that a thumb print found on some of the contraband recovered by the authorities was a match to Baines’ print, we affirm the judgment of the district court. United…

I’ve commented earlier that I do not see Melendez-Diaz altering the drug urinalysis case in terms of laboratory evidence. Here is some additional thought which I think supports my conclusion. Q2: Peer review, forensic experts. One question that came up during oral argument, and remains after the ruling, is the application of the ruling to…