From the category archives:

Evidence

More Mistakes in the Donald E. Gates Case

March 14, 2010 Evidence

Last week I posted an entry about Donald E. Gates and how he served 28 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  Gates was convicted on the basis of false testimony by FBI agent Michael P. Malone that matched a hair found on the victim’s body with a hair sample taken from Gates.  [...]

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On Forensic Science and Donald E. Gates

March 8, 2010 Evidence

Donald E. Gates served 28 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.  In 1981, Gates was convicted of raping and murdering a Georgetown University student, whose body was found in Rock Creek park with five bullet wounds to her head.  The key piece of evidence against Gates – providing what the prosecutor [...]

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Listening to the Witness on Cross-Examination

January 6, 2010 Evidence

This guy has his eye put out in an accident.  He can’t afford a glass eye, so the eye doctor puts in a fake eye made of wood instead. The guy is very self-conscious about his wood eye, but finally his friends talk him into joining them at a dance.  It is time, they say, [...]

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The “Too Clever By Half” Prosecution Witness

January 1, 2010 Evidence

One of my favorites targets for cross-examination is the prosecution witness with an axe to grind.  While you need to be vigilant as a criminal defense attorney facing this type of witness, particularly if you are in front of a jury, such a witness provides you with plenty of opportunities for impeachment and for attacking [...]

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The “No-Lose” Question on Cross-Examination

December 21, 2009 Evidence

Criminal defense attorneys spend a lot of time before trial trying to anticipate the testimony of witnesses who will be called by the prosecution to testify. A familiar piece of advice, one that has worked its way into the English lexicon, is not to ask a question you don’t know the answer to.   In other [...]

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Tiger Woods, DUI, and the Husband-Wife Privilege

December 15, 2009 DUI and Driving Offenses

Tiger Woods’ car accident the day after Thanksgiving illustrates a number of the DWI, DUI and OWI issues I have discussed on this blog.  The fact that Woods was charged with careless driving but not drinking-and-driving does not prove that Woods was sober at the time of the accident.  In fact, all indications suggest that [...]

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Drugs: Admissibility of Statements

October 7, 2009 Criminal Procedure

Many people assume that if the police did not read the defendant his or her Miranda rights (“You have the right to remain silent,” etc.) during any phase of police investigation, the whole case will be thrown out. This is not true. In fact, any statements the defendant or any co-conspirators make would normally be [...]

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