Law Commons^™

The New Pcast Report To The President Of The United States On Forensic Science, Robert M. Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

The New Rules For Admissibility Of Expert Testimony: Part Ii, Robert Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

As described in the last Criminal Justice column for the Santa Barbara Lawyer magazine, the California Supreme Court’s opinion in Sargon Enterprises v. University of Southern California, 55 Cal. 4th 747, 149 Cal. Rptr. 3d 614 (2012) made it clear that California is now, (and perhaps unsuspectingly has been for some time), a Daubert jurisdiction. This requires the trial court be the “gatekeeper” and make a determination as to the admissibility of scientific or expert testimony and to determine the limits of any testimony, if it is introduced. The Court held that there are essentially three criteria: The first criterion …

The New Rules For Admissibility Of Expert Testimony: Part I, Robert Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

In a previous series of articles for this magazine, I took the position that California really was a Daubert jurisdiction in the sense that Kelly and Frye and thenexisting case law required that the court be the “gatekeeper” and make a determination as to: 1) whether a science (or area of expertise) was a science (or area of expertise); 2) whether the witness was a scientist (or expert); 3) whether the data was reliable; and then, and only then, 4) what a true scientist (or expert) could say based on the science and based on the reliable data. In the …

Wrongful Conviction Claims Under Section 1983, Martin A. Schwartz, Robert W. Pratt

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

The Implications Of A Jeopardy! Computer Named Watson: Beating Corporate Boards Of Directors At Fiduciary Duties?, Roger M. Groves

Roger M. Groves

Millions of documents, including five million messages, termed electronically stored information (“ESI”) from the Enron litigation have provided an opportunity for software developers to create software that analyzes ESI for behaviors of computer users in more provocative and innovative ways than previously encountered. The law is struggling to clarify e-discovery rules, but the ambiguities provide an opportunity for counsel to manipulate or take advantage of forensic investigations. In this article, the author examines the potential exploitation of e-discovery forensic tools by shareholders of a corporation that suspect a breach of fiduciary duties by members of the board of directors.

A Study Of Juror Expectations And Demands Concerning Scientific Evidence: Does The “Csi Effect” Exist?, Hon. Donald Shelton, Gregg Barak, Young Kim

Hon. Donald E. Shelton

Many prosecutors, judges and journalists have claimed that watching television shows like CSI have caused jurors to wrongfully acquit guilty defendants when no scientific evidence is presented. This is the first empirical study designed to investigate whether the “CSI effect” exists. This survey of 1027 persons called for jury duty in a State court looked at jurors’ television viewing habits, their expectations that the prosecutor would produce scientific evidence, and whether they would demand scientific evidence as a condition of a guilty verdict. While the study did find significant expectations and demands for scientific evidence, there was little or no …