ExpertPages Blog

Prosecutor Requests Admission of Evidence Without Expert

A Lapeer County Prosecutor has requested that he be allowed to admit evidence relating to an animal’s genetics into court without presenting an expert to testify about this evidence at trial. The Incident On July 7, a black husky and another dog owned by Geuorgui Shopov were running loose in Attica Township, Michigan. The two […]

Experts Clash Over Defendant’s Mental Capacity

Expert witnesses cannot agree about whether a man who pleaded guilty to murder is mentally fit to face the death penalty. The Crime In February 2010, a group of six men held 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty captive for more than two days. Daugherty was beaten and tortured, bound with Christmas lights, and stabbed to death. Her body […]

Appellate Court Affirms Exclusion of Toxicologist’s Opinion Linking Respiratory Disease to Pollutants from Fertilizer Plant

Rhonda Williams sued Mosaic Fertilizer, claiming that her lung diseases and other health conditions were related to toxic substances emitted by Mosaic’s plant. Mosaic made a Daubert motion to exclude the expert testimony that linked Williams’ health problems to Mosaic’s emissions. A federal district court granted the motion and the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh […]

Former Cop and Expert Witness Pleads Guilty to Perjury and Theft

A former Flagstaff Police Officer and expert witness for the Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Safe Child Center has pleaded guilty for perjury and theft of between $4,000 and $25,000. The Investigation Carli Moncher was retained as an expert witness to testify in cases involving children, including cases of child abuse for the Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Safe […]

Hypnosis Experts Challenged in Texas

Everyone agrees that expert evidence should be reliable. Judges have historically examined whether an expert is qualified to render a specialized opinion, and if so, whether the expert’s opinion is based on something more substantial than conjecture. Some version of the Daubert standard for determining the admissibility of expert testimony now prevails in most states. That […]

Firearms Instructor Not Permitted to Testify as Expert Witness

Carlos Jones was convicted of second degree murder for causing the death of his wife, Tabatha Smith. Jones testified that he woke up in the morning and got out of bed to check on the children. When he returned to the bedroom, his wife rolled over onto the gun he kept beneath his pillow. She […]

Court Rejects Expert Testimony on Race-Related Trauma

A court has rejected the expert testimony of a Texas clinical psychologist who was brought in to testify on race-related trauma in the sentencing trial of a man who was convicted of first-degree murder. The Shooting On August 1, 2015, Marquis Wright stepped out of his relative’s house to smoke and noticed a relative’s car […]

Fourth Circuit Rules Expert Has Immunity

The Fourth Circuit has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the families of coal miners who were denied benefits for black lung disease after a doctor insisted that X-rays did not show the disease. The Johns Hopkins Black Lung Program Miners who were diagnosed with black lung disease were eligible for benefits through a federal program. […]

Federal Judge Excludes All Plaintiffs’ Testimony in Mirena MDL

A New York federal judge has excluded testimony from all expert witnesses for the women in the multi-district litigation that alleges that Bayer’s contraceptive Mirena causes a rare disease involving spinal fluid. Mirena Device Controversy The Mirena contraceptive device is a hormone-releasing intrauterine device. It is placed into the uterus by a trained healthcare provider during […]

Appellate Court Upholds Admission of DRE Testimony

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a trial court did not err by admitting expert testimony from a drug recognition expert (DRE) in an impaired driving trial. Usually, a DRE provides probable cause to justify an arrest, while a subsequent blood test establishes that the defendant had consumed a controlled substance. In most […]