6 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Murder" AND cat:"Experts"'.
J. Kafker finds discretion was not abused in the denial of Massachusetts’s motion to admit its expert testimony on frequent location history data. “The purpose of rule 15 is to provide an avenue for interlocutory review of rulings that would otherwise terminate a criminal proceeding,” so expansions of this rule are only allowed where they support this purpose. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Kafker, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: SJC-13499, Categories: evidence, murder, experts
J. Fox finds the trial court erroneously excluded evidence of defendant's mental illness during her trial on murder and vehicular homicide. The evidence was crucial to the defense's explanation of her calm affect following the incident and was supported by the testimony of an expert witness. Testimony that defendant had previously been diagnosed with a mental illness and failed to take her medications in the days leading up to the incident would not have supported an insanity plea, but rather were indicative of her mental state and should have been admitted by the court. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Fox, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 2023COA115, Categories: evidence, murder, experts
J. Ortego finds that defendant was properly convicted of second-degree murder in a cold case, where defendant was arrested fifteen years after the victim's body was discovered in an abandoned building near I-10 in Winnie, Texas. There was sufficient evidence for the jury to find the victim died from homicide by asphyxiation and that defendant committed the offense. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Ortego, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: KA-23-115, Categories: evidence, murder, experts
J. Miller finds the trial court did not preclude defendant from presenting a full defense when it denied his motion to allow certain witnesses to testify about the victim's violent behavior. Defendant testified about prior assaults and verbal confrontations when he took the stand; therefore, any additional testimony would have been duplicative. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied defendant's request for expert witness funds because he failed to provide parameters for the scope of the expert's testimony or show a particularized need for such evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4360, Categories: evidence, murder, experts
J. Gallagher finds the lower court properly denied defendant's request for a hearing on his motion for leave to request a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. While he did not present bloodstain analysis at his trial in 2004, the expert reports he now seeks to introduce are not based on new technology or science but are merely different interpretations of the evidence already introduced at his original trial. However, the Brady evidence cited by defendant - including the victim's state of mind in the days leading up to his murder - could have been used to impeach certain witnesses' testimony and was unavailable at the original trial, which requires a remand to the trial court for a hearing to determine the merits of that claim. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gallagher, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3626, Categories: evidence, murder, experts
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J. Rodriguez finds a lower court ruled correctly in allowing testimony from a forensic expert at a murder trial. Defendant argued the testimony was improper because the lab where the expert worked was not accredited at the time it had tested the alleged murder weapon, and while this is a valid point, the error was “harmless” because the evidence of his guilt was multifaceted and “overwhelming.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: August 1, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00192-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, experts