Sometime in late 1980 I was representing a man found not guilty by reason of insanity for hacking at several people with a machete in a shopping mall. Each side had retained a psychiatrist for expert testimony on the issue of the level of security appropriate for the facility in which he would be placed. After becoming more and more annoyed with the direction of the prosecutor’s interrogation of his own expert, despite overruling most of my objections, the judge called both counsel into chambers. Standing before the judge's desk, we both knew...
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Station Identification as Forensic Procedure? California Court Strains Tracking Law in Drive-By Shooting Case
Tony Walker was sitting in a parked car in the afternoon on May 7, 2007, when a Dodge Intrepid came past with three bald-headed Hispanic men, at least one of which, according to a witness, had a gun. Multiple shots came from the Intrepid, killing Walker and Jamal Varcasia, who was running across the street at that moment. The witness, Raeshel Shay, was frightened and did not immediately report what she had seen. Later she was in custody for having a fraudulent gift card when, during a monitored phone call to her sister, she mentioned the shooting....
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wolves Likely to Become Fair Game in Most of Wyoming
The Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the “best scientific and commercial data available indicate that wolves in Wyoming are recovered and no longer meet the definition of endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act….” Proposed rule changes are suggested in accordance with this presumed development, though implementation would require, in addition to finalization of the rules, that the State...
Did Courtroom Demonstration Create Impression of Infallible Arson Dog? Prejudice Argument Swept Aside by Appeals Court
William Halliday was convicted of first degree arson and insurance fraud for setting his house on fire and attempting to collect insurance money. We are given no description of the events behind the fire by the Alaskan appellate court to which Halliday appealed his conviction. Rather, the appellate court focuses on Halliday’s assignment of error to one crucial piece of evidence, the testimony of an arson dog handler and a demonstration conducted by that handler with her dog before the jury. Deputy Fire Chief Bridget Bushue testified that she...
Friday, October 7, 2011
Rashomon in the Courthouse: A Service Dog Story
As in Rashoman, there are four versions of the story, but let us begin with the dog handler: Brenda, a veteran who suffers from a seizure disorder and requires the assistance of O’Neal, a service dog, came to an Ohio courthouse in the summer of 2009 to testify as a witness for a friend’s son. She was accompanied by her husband as well as the dog. The officer operating the metal detector informed her that animals were not allowed in the courthouse. Brenda explained that the dog was a service animal. The officer had not heard of this but said...
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