In 2016, the Legislature enacted the Justice Reinvestment Act, 2016 Md. Laws Ch. 515, SB 1005, (“JRA”) which, among other criminal justice reforms, reduced the ten (10) year maximum penalty for the non-violent offense of felony theft to five (5) years. The JRA also increased the minimum and maximum property values that define the offense […]
Although DNA/forensic science may appear to swiftly and reliably solve crimes with flashy graphics on television crime dramas, John Oliver called out the “bullshit” of forensic science on “Last Week, Tonight” (originally aired Oct. 1, 2017). HBO has posted Oliver’s focus segment on YouTube. Oliver explains the surprising problem with a wide-range of forensic “science” […]
Part 1 – The Certification of an Analyst Do you face an upcoming violation of probation hearing or a drug court sanction hearing for testing positive? The common tactic is to demand the presence of the analyst and persons in the chain of custody and hope someone doesn’t show up. For a number of reasons, […]
Rochkind: The COA Clarifies Maryland’s Hybrid Daubert/Frye Legal Framework Governing Admissibility Of Expert Testimony. In Rochkind v. Stevenson, 454 Md. 277 (2017) the COA took a close look at the third prong of Rule 5-702, which requires that an expert’s opinion be based on a sufficient factual basis. Rochkind is one in a series of […]
Drug Test Alert. Contact RaquinMercer if you are charged with knowingly possessing, distributing, or PWID, of an “analogue” CDS alleged to be “substantially similar” in chemical structure and effect to a scheduled CDS. The Supreme Court in McFadden v. United States answered the question whether a person charged with possessing an analogue CDS must “know” of its illegal character. […]
3 NG’s in Murder Trials Highlight Limits Of Cell Phone Location Evidence Appointed public defenders recently secured acquittals in three murder prosecutions involving cell phone location evidence that was central to the State’s theories of guilt. These defense victories demonstrate the effectiveness of employing a litigation process that can work across the wide range of […]
The COSA Holds Drug Court Sanction Involving Jail Is Appealable; Due Process Rights of Participants Violated When Drug Failed To Conduct Formal Adversarial Hearing. Reported in the Court of Special Appeals (April 27, 2017): Brookman v. State (No. 182) & Carnes v. State (No. 183) (Nazarian, Arthur, Thieme, JJ.). Opinion by Nazarian, J. Argued by […]
The strong demand in criminal cases for historical cellular location information has created opportunities for law enforcement to extend the limits of what is possible. The FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) is promoting a new methodology that it claims greatly improves the precision of historical cell sector analysis. The FBI CAST says it can […]
Challenging The Factual Basis Of Historical Cell Site/Tower Location Opinion Evidence Under Rule 5-702 Cellular service has become an integral part of our daily life. But it does not follow from our user experience with reliable cellular service that historical location information derived from call detail records is similarly reliable. (This blog does not address […]
Steve Mercer Invited to Address the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) (Washington, D.C.) On January 14, 2016, Steve Mercer addressed by invitation PCAST during a closed session. Steve also submitted this written statement discussing the powerful incentives in criminal cases for police dominated laboratories to issue biased reports and the critical […]
June 2014 At its May 22nd conference, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in twelve of the fifteen petitions–some held since the beginning of the term–that asked the Court to resolve the conflict in lower courts over when a forensic science report is testimonial for Confrontation Clause purposes. The twelve petitions included Confrontation Clause challenges to autopsy and toxicology reports, […]
On May 27, the Court of Special Appeals in State v. Hailes, 2014 Md. App. LEXIS 49 (2014) (Moylan, J.), held that a common law dying declaration (not the broader rule based dying declaration) is exempt from the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause, and that the content of the declaration–which was an extra-judicial identification (photo array)–is only subject (under […]
Trial Court Erred When It Permitted A Police Officer To Testify As A Lay Witness About The Detection Of Accelerants By Canine Simpson v. State – No: 2833, Sept. 25, 2013 (COSA Sept. Term 2012) (Hotten, J.). On appeal from the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County (Pearson, J.) COSA held the trial court erred when it permitted a […]
