Amicus Brief to Exclude Drug Recognition Expert
Pages 1-4 discuss the history and development of the DRE program; pages 6-10 explain how the DRE test fails Rule of Evidence 702 because it does not assist the trier of fact to understand a fact in issue and the officers who testify about it are not qualified in the relevant field of knowledge; and […]
Susceptibility of Adolescents to Influence
p. 18 – 23 incorporate research about the high susceptibility of adolescents to persuasion, especially by police. Amici argues that this makes adolescents more likely than adults to give false information to authority figures. Includes research on how adolescents respond to authority under stress.
False Arrest & Imprisonment Complaint – inaccuracy and racial bias in facial recognition technology
Civil rights complaint about problems with facial recognition technology – pgs. 9-12 collect research about errors with when images are of low quality, angles are different, resolution is bad; pgs. 12-15 collect research showing facial recognition algorithms are racially biased; pgs. 15-16 collect data about jurisdictions that have banned use of facial recognition technology because […]
Mistaken eyewitness identification expert report
This expert report collects and describes cutting edge social science describing the problems with eyewitness identifications including: the effects of poor lighting and distance (p. 5); the effects of a quick exposure and the problem of witnesses’ overestimating the length of exposure (p. 5-6); problems with cross-racial identifications (p. 6); problem if witness previously viewed […]
Motion for Attorney Conducted Voir Dire on Issue of Racial Bias
Incorporates studies on implicit bias generally, as well as specifically within jury panels
Request for Jury to Watch Video About Implicit Bias
Advocates that showing prospective jurors a video about implicit bias will help ensure a fair and impartial jury.
Motion to Exclude DNA “Likelihood Ratio” Testimony
Argues that “likelihood ratio” evidence — the statistical frequency of a suspect’s characteristic — has not been sufficiently validated and is misleading to the jury because the jury conflates it with probability of guilt.
Motion to Preclude Term “Felon” in a possession of a firearm case
p. 9-13 cite research on jury bias, impact of prior conviction evidence, and inefficacy of limiting instructions about prior convictions
Brief – Use of Term “Felon” and Introduction of Prior Convictions are Unfairly Prejudicial and should be Precluded
p. 8 – 12 outline existing research on how jurors respond to and use evidence of prior convictions. Incorporates research demonstrating that limiting instructions do not cure the prejudice, as jurors still use prior convictions as propensity evidence even when instructed not to.