Mississippi Supreme Court to Review Shaken Baby Case

Newborn Baby

The Mississippi Supreme court has agreed to review the case of a man whose murder conviction was overturned last year. The court will decide whether to reinstate the conviction, order a new trial, or drop the charges entirely. The Crime In January 2008, Joshua Clark was left in charge of his infant daughter Kylie and […]

Deposing Experts in the Age of COVID-19

Lab Analysts May Be Required to Testify in Person in Criminal Trials

Taking discovery from experts was fairly routine before the coronavirus pandemic. Under the federal rules in civil cases, an expert would write a report, the report would be disclosed to the opposing party, and that party would typically take the expert’s deposition. State rules generally track those procedures. After the pandemic, taking a deposition is […]

Drug Dog Expert Helps Defendant Establish that Car Search Was Unreasonable

ExpertPages recently reported an appellate decision in Florida that upheld the admission of expert testimony given by cadaver dog handlers. The handlers testified that when their dogs “alerted” after sniffing parts of a car, they were telling the handler that they smelled the remains of a body. The human ability to interpret a dog’s thoughts […]

Tennessee Prohibits Reliance on an Involuntary Expert to Establish Standard of Care

Brenda Pringle had an operation to remove pelvic cysts. Her recovery did not go well. Additional surgeries were required before she could return to work. Pringle made a complaint against her surgeon, Dr. Christy South, to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. The Board contracted with Dr. Elvis Donaldson to review the complaint. He apparently […]

Tara Reade’s Expert Witness Credentials Questioned

Expert CV Checklist

Tara Reade, the former Senate staffer who has accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexual harassment and assault, is under scrutiny for misrepresenting her qualifications under oath when appearing as an expert witness in domestic violence cases. Joe Biden Accusation Tara Reade, 56, has accused 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually harassing and […]

Admission of Cadaver Dog Handler Testimony Affirmed Over Daubert Challenge

Apart from providing faithful companionship, dogs have a variety of useful skills that they gladly contribute to humans. But are dogs reliable expert witnesses? They might possess relevant expert knowledge, but they are handicapped by an inability to express their thoughts in human language. And since no human can read a dog’s mind, the human […]

Florida Supreme Court Throws Out Circumstantial Evidence Standard

Seal of State of Florida and Gavel

The current version of the Florida Supreme Court is no respecter of precedent. The Court recently upheld the conviction of a man for the murder of his estranged wife. In doing so, the court threw out a legal standard about circumstantial evidence in criminal appeals. Murder of Nicole Elise Bush In 2011, deputies from the […]

Law Professor Defends “Stand Your Ground” Laws

Gun

A law professor and commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights has filed a statement in support of the “Stand Your Ground” laws that were the subject of a recent Commission on Civil Rights report. Stand Your Ground Laws Under the common law castle doctrine, the use of deadly force is justified in […]