...the jury to decide is given. Once the prosecution has made their statement, the defense attorney is permitted to give their opening statement, however the defense attorney may request to hold their opening statement until the beginning of the defense case. Once the opening statement has been made, the prosecution begins to present their case. This is where the prosecution calls forth any witnesses they may have to provide testimony for the case. Anyone involved in the arrest, interrogation, or investigation of the crime as well as any witnesses to the crime, may be called to testify. Throughout the testimonies evidence is permitted to be admitted to the court to further help the case. The defense is the allowed to cross examine each witness so that they may try to discredit any statements given that may help to prove the prosecution’s case. After the prosecution has presented its case, the defense attorney may now begin to present their case to the judge and jury. Just like the prosecution, the defense brings in any witnesses or experts to provide testimony along with evidence that will help to prove their case. Once the defense has presented their case the prosecution is given the chance to cross examine the...
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...judges have substantial discretion or ‘considerable leeway’ to determine how to evaluate relevance and reliability and to make a determination on whether to admit the expert evidence. While this decision will make it more difficult when judges are hostile to the type of expert testimony being offered by plaintiffs, there were some helpful aspects to the Court’s opinion that lawyers for plaintiffs should know and emphasize: • The Court rejected arguments that all, or even one, of the four Daubert factors (testing, peer review, error rates, and scientific acceptability) must be satisfied for the testimony to be admissible, noting that even in scientific evidence cases the Daubert factors ‘do not all necessarily apply’; • The Court endorsed the idea that expert testimony from reliable fields of study that conforms with the standards used in that discipline should be admissible (In doing so, the Court was allowing trial judges to exclude testimony that uses techniques or methods not commonly practiced within that field of expertise or testimony based on such claims of expertise as astrology); • Although the Court rejected the tire-failure expert’s testimony in Kumho, the Court specifically noted that expert conclusions based on methodologies consistent with the prevailing norms of that...
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...Daubert Paper Lisa Boetta Acct343-F1WW Tricia Bell October 27, 2013 The Dauber standard is the standard used by trial judges to determine if an expert witness’ testimony is based on scientifically backed up reasoning and if it can be applied to the facts of the case at hand. There are multiple factors to determine if the criterion has been met. They are: “(1) whether the theory or technique in question can be and has been tested; (2) whether it has been subjected to peer review and publication; (3) its known or potential error rate; (4) the existence and maintenance of standards controlling its operation; and (5) whether it has attracted widespread acceptance within a relevant scientific community”. (Daubert Standard) In Daubert vs. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, suit was brought against the makers of Bendectin. It was alleged that the drug caused serious birth defects in children whose mothers had taken it while pregnant. Copious amounts of published scientific literature stated that there was not a link between the consumption of Bendectin and birth defects in humans. Eight well credentialed experts testified that Bendectin can cause side effects in animals as well as in humans, however, their testimony was deemed by the court to not meet general acceptance standards for the admission of expert testimony. Since their findings have not been published by the scientific community, they were not considered to be generally accepted (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals...
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...Debate Paper XBCOM/275 November 12, 2014 Heather Fontaine The topic that I have chosen for the subject of my debate paper is the trial of George Zimmerman. On February 26, 2012 a man that was unknown at the time was about to be the center of controversy when he shot and killed a 17 year old boy named Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. The man in question George Zimmerman was a patrolman for the local neighborhood watch in his area. Trayvon Martin was visiting his father who lived in a gated community one of which is where the shooting occurred. That morning Zimmerman had noticed a male lingering in the neighborhood, he then called the non-emergency line to report this. While on the phone with the police the dispatcher informed Mr. Zimmerman not to follow the individual and that police were on their way. When the police arrived moments later they did not find a male lingering in the neighborhood what they had found was Trayvon Martin on the ground lifeless he had been shot in the chest. As the police walked the crime scene, the items that were found were a cell phone, ear buds, iced tea and a bag of skittles, no gun. The only person that was holding a gun was Mr. Zimmerman, this was to be the only gun found at the scene. This sparked outrage within the town, state and country. Mr. Zimmerman was charged with murder and arrested, he had non-life threatening injuries to his head which were treated. Mr. Zimmerman was questioned for many hours, after being questioned...
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...action which was tried on March 7, 2012. At the trial of this case, Plaintiff’s representative appeared as the Records Custodian and corporate representative of the Plaintiff, Bank. In seeking to introduce the admission of the Note, Mortgage, payment history, demand letter (Intent to Accelerate), and The Plaintiff’s Records Custodian testified under oath: a. That the records sought to be introduced were made at or near the time of the event; b. The records were made by or from information transmitted by a person with knowledge; c. The records were kept in the ordinary course of a regularly conducted business activity; d. And that it was a regular practice of Bank of America to make such a record. Pursuant to Fla. Stat. 90.803(6) this testimony is sufficient for the introduction of the Plaintiff’s records under the Business Records exception to the hearsay rule. See Freemon v. Deutsche Bank Trust Co., 46 So. 3d 1202 (4th DCA 2010) (affirming judgment for bank where affiant for bank in foreclosure action did not attest that she personally made all the entries for any particular mortgage, and that the default by defendant, and the amounts due and owing were acquired by “imputing the mortgagor’s name into the computer which contains...
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...CJ 1130 Criminal Evidence Project Directions: Answer the following scenarios utilizing the Ohio Rules of Evidence or the Federal Rules of Evidence. Respond to each scenario using the formula detailed in class: 1) respond to the question 2) state the pertinent rule or concept, and 3) correctly apply the rule to the case. Papers must be word processed. No handwritten work will be accepted. Projects are due at the beginning of class on the day of your class meeting during the week beginning October 6, 2014. Due to the nature of the assignment, NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!! Feel free to turn the project in early. 1. To impeach Walt Dipsey’s primary witness, the Evil Stepmother, Snow White plans to introduce testimony of seven diminutive witnesses in the neighborhood who will testify that the Evil Stepmother has a reputation for untruthfulness. On what basis can Dipsey exclude some of the witnesses? 2. Charles Foster Kane is arrested for possession of cocaine, which the prosecution asserts was contained in a “snowy” paperweight on Kane’s desk. The prosecutor offers as evidence a lab report stating, “The “snow” in the subject paperweight is 95% pure cocaine hydrochloride.” Is the report hearsay? Why or why not? 3. Peter Pan gives John, Wendy and Michael fairy dust to fly. He is arrested on narcotics charges. Wendy is called as a witness at trial. She can’t remember exactly what happened, but, when she is shown some notes she made at the...
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...Eyewitness testimony is largely affected by the way an interviewer asks questions. This type of evidence is often the most important and therefore, must be retrieved correctly. Courts are skeptical of evidence achieved entirely from eyewitness testimony which makes it extremely important to get truthful and corroborated evidence. It is very easy for an interviewer to put false information into the minds of the interviewees which could in fact incarcerate the wrong person. Receiving eyewitness testimony must be done in a proper way to ensure the information of a particular event is correct. Proper Questions Interviewers must ask questions in a proper manner to ensure there are no bias answers. If questions are asked incorrectly, a person may give perceive changed memories....
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...Dog Fight. The owner of Dog A claims that Dog B attacked his/her dog. This may or may not be the case. The owner of Dog A isn’t neutral as they are inclined to argue in favour of their own dog. The owner of Dog A also has a vested interest in the situation because if their dog was to be held responsible they would suffer the consequences . The owner of B isn’t neutral either and also has a vested interest . However the owner of Dog B argues that because his/her dog has more injuries that means that Dog A is at fault here. This reason isn’t sufficient enough to draw such a conclusion . One reason why it isn’t sufficient is because it’s mentioned that B’s dog was involved in a fight with C’s dog maybe the injuries on B’s dog could be from the fight with C’s dog . The other reason is because the dog that starts a fight isn’t always the one who finishes it in his/her favour. The owner of C’s dog says that B’s dog also got in a fight with their dog and that C always gets along with A . I believe I can assume that since A and C “always” get along with each other , the owners must be friends that would give both owners a vested interest as both their dogs have had an encounter with B so it might delight them to punish B . Thus C can’t be recognised as a neutral witness . Also the fact that A gets along with C isn’t sufficient evidence to suggest that A wouldn’t normally behave in such a bellicose manner. As a result this evidence doesn’t amount to relevant expertise. D has often...
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...Minnesota v. Riff Sarah Clutter, Michelle Capps, Adrien Watkins, Brandie Scott, Marcia Matthews CJA/304 November 14, 2011 Timothy Sullivan Minnesota v. Riff The Minnesota v. Riff court case is complex and has different types of communication involved. In the case, both written and oral communications are presented. During this paper we will discuss the communication used for the prosecution, defense, witnesses, and the judge. We will also discuss the guidelines for each communication in the court case. The duties of the prosecution, defense, witnesses, and the judge are important to every trial. The prosecuting attorney communicates both orally and in writing. The main goal of this attorney is to prove that this defendant is undeniably guilty to the judge and jury. He does this by beginning orally with an opening statement, stating that Ronald Rift did knowingly commit the crime of Breaking and Entering (1) 2911.13 F5; and Burglary (1) 2911.12 F2; on 09/30/11 between 12:10 and 12:20 A.M. This was located at Marquette’s Market 1234 Main St. Midtown, Minnesota 44333. The owner is Speedy Marquette (owner of Marquette’s Market). It is up to the prosecution to share all written evidence with the defense attorney before the trial and to present all evidence against the defendant to the judge and jury. It is also up to this attorney to introduce the witnesses for the prosecution and to examine them orally before the cross examination of the defense attorney. The witnesses:...
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...Court system Drew Peterson, a former Illinois police officer, was found guilty of murdering with third wife Kathleen Savio (Curry, 2012). Savio was found dead in her dry bathtub back in 2004 and it had originally been deemed an accident (Curry, 2012). However, when his fourth wife Stacy Peterson went missing in 2007, Savio’s death became questionable (Curry, 2012). With her death in question, exhuming and reexamining her body was the next step (Curry, 2012). Now ruling her death as a homicide, Peterson would receive charges of first-degree murder and was facing up to 60 years in prison (Curry, 2012). Ruling Savio’s death as a homicide was no easy task (Curry, 2012). Prosecutors were building this case mainly on hearsay evidence which is typically barred so it was the first case of its kind in Illinois history (Curry, 2012). Made to fit Peterson’s case, “Drew’s Law” was passed to allow hearsay evidence under rare circumstances (Curry, 2012). This case became such a big deal that Lifetime made a movie about it (Curry, 2012). When looking at it, they were relying on statements made by his fourth wife Stacy along with many others as evidence (Curry, 2012). - Friend Kristin Anderson testifying that Savio told her Peterson once warned her at knifepoint, "I could kill you and make it look like an accident." - Stacy Peterson's...
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...Exercise 8-8 The knowledge, skills, training, experience, and education that accountants are expected to have in performing litigation services are the same that they must have and use when performing other professional services. And they must satisfy the standards established by the court controlling the litigation. Exercise 8-9 . The standards that apply to accountants that perform litigation services are: professional competence, Independence, Objectivity and integrity, confidential client information, and conflict of interest. Exercise 8-11 The written agreement should cover the following: The name of the attorney’s client, the litigant’s names and place for the legal proceeding, the nature of the litigation services to be performed, whether the practitioner will be asked to testify as an expert witness, what restrictions will be imposed on use and disclosure of the practitioner’s work, whether the practitioner has any conflict of interest with the litigants, whether the practitioner’s work will be protected by the attorney work product privilege, Circumstances under which the practitioner may terminate his or her engagement, and fee. Exercise 8-13 To qualify as an expert witness, needs to have specialized training or experience, so they can testify in court to help the judge or jurors understand complicated and technical subjects. They also rely on inadmissible facts or data if the expert witness is of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular...
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...observation of the car’s skid marks on the pavement. For the witness’s statement, “In my opinion, anyone who drinks two beers becomes intoxicated”, the defense should also make a specific objection on the ground that the question calls or an opinion from the witness. The witness’s first words from that statement is “In my opinion”, and it is exactly that; an opinion. Rule 701 of the Federal Rules of Evidence limits lay witnesses to testifying to those opinions rationally based on the perception of the witness. The statement, “When I saw the defendant right after the accident, his face appeared flushed and he staggered as he walked” made by the witness might be challenged by a general objection by the defense counsel on the ground that the testimony is irrelevant. Lastly, the defense should make a specific objection...
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...Expert Witness Helped Convict Wrong Man A panel of six independent forensic scientists stated, in a report filed in a Houston State court, that crime laboratory supervisor James Bolding helped convict an innocent man of rape in 1987. Because Bolding either lacked basic knowledge of blood typing or gave false testimony, George Rodriguez spent 17 years in prison for a rape that he did not commit. Bolding’s testimony in the case was challenged amid a scandal that led to retesting of evidence in 360 cases; And with the report filed, that number could increase by the thousands, involving 25 years of cases. “The panel concluded that crime laboratory officials might have offered ''similarly false and scientifically unsound'' reports and testimony in other cases, and it called for a comprehensive audit spanning decades to re-examine the results of a broad array of rudimentary tests on blood, semen and other bodily fluids” (Liptak and Blumenthal, 2004). There have been many cases where forensic science and law enforcement experts have provided sworn testimony, documents, or reports intended for the court that contain unreliable or misleading information, findings, opinions, or conclusions. Some are found to have been intentionally offered by the expert in order to secure an unfair or unlawful conviction, via ‘fitting the evidence to the crime’. A state audit of the Houston police department (HPD) crime lab, completed in December 2002, found that HPDs DNA technicians there...
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...Key Terms and Concepts Accident-analysis report is defined as a report that is completed when the accident in questions is serious. This analysis report requires special skills and should be undertaken only by an individual with those skills. The term also means at any of the following circumstances result from the accident in question: death, loss of consciousness, professional medical, etc. (Goetsch, p.166). Accident investigation is defined as an investigation its purpose is to collect facts not to find fault. The term also means a determination of all the events that led to an accident including understanding causal relationships between events (Goetsch, p.166). Accident report is defined as a report that’s completed when the accident in question represents only a minor incident. The term also means to record the findings of an accident investigation, the cause or causes of an accident, and recommendations for corrective action (Goetsch, p.165). Accident scene is defined as an area where the accident happened that is usually blocked off by barriers or heavy yellow tape. The term also means the area where an accident occurred (Goetsch, p.169). Causes is defined as the primary focus. Personal beliefs and feelings, decision to work unsafely, mismatch or overload are some common causes of accidents. The term also means a person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result (Goetsch, p.166). Decision to...
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...Introduction Eyewitness evidence can be highly persuasive to jurors. However, eyewitness testimony can be mistaken. Eyewitness’ memory of the event may change drastically between the time one first witness an event and the time one recount it to someone else (Loftus, 1975). At the time of exposure and shortly thereafter, observers have much more information than they can later report and that the availability of this information declines rapidly (Sperling, 1960). Furthermore, Clifford and Scott (1978) reported that the emotionality surrounding an incident can affect the testimony of both the victim and witnesses, and both accuracy and completeness. The goal of the present research is to examine the effect of eyewitness testimony on juries....
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