Articles Posted in Expert Witness Testimony

Former OK state Sen. Gene Stipe’s mental competence could have significant ramifications beyond an effort to revoke his probation. A recent indictment against him on new charges also could be affected. Stipe’s competence is being questioned after a federal judge said Monday that a prison psychologist found Stipe to be incompetent.
NewsOK.com also writes:

U.S. District Judge Ronald White made the statement during a 20-minute hearing on a defense motion to delay the octogenarian’s mental competency hearing. Stipe’s lead attorney, Clark Brewster, requested the hearing, saying he received Dr. Robert Denney’s report on Stipe only last week. Brewster said that didn’t give him ample time to study it and find expert witnesses who might possibly challenge the report’s conclusions.

Bristol University’s Institute of Child Life and Health is releasing a study this week which found that 9 out of 10 mothers whose babies suffered SIDS smoked during pregnancy. The study says women who smoke during pregnancy are four times more likely than non-smokers to see their child fall victim to SIDS. Ms. Angela Cannings, from Salisbury in Wiltshire, maintained her babies died from SIDS but was jailed for life in April 2002 after she was found guilty of smothering her two sons. At her appeal, Professor Robert Carpenter, a medical expert witness specializing in statistics, said the babies had been at a “substantially increased risk” of SIDS because they may have been exposed to cigarette smoke. The Independent also writes:

The comprehensive report will make a strong case for the Government to increase the scope of anti-smoking legislation. It even suggests a possible move to try to ban pregnant women from getting tobacco altogether. The study, produced by Bristol University’s Institute of Child Life and Health, is based on analysis of the evidence of 21 international studies on smoking and cot death. The report, co-authored by Peter Fleming, professor of infant health and developmental physiology, and Dr. Peter Blair, senior research fellow, will be published this week in the medical journal Early Human Development.

Scientists are working to the theory that exposure to smoke during the pregnancy or just after birth has an effect on brain chemicals in the foetus or in infants, increasing the risk of SIDS.

Maine’s Public Advocate Office has proposed conditions for a deal in which Fairpoint would acquire Verizon’s northern New England landline business. The 23 conditions were developed based on the examination by Public Advocate attorneys, their four expert witnesses, and thousands of pages of documents, and testimony in the case. Telecommunications expert witnesses testified in the telephone utility acquisition case where PUC attorneys said “The risks presented by this case are enormous, and all potential adverse impacts must be addressed now.” Seacoast Online also reports:

A key element of the Public Advocate’s recommendations requires a restructuring of the agreement between Fairpoint and Verizon so that Verizon, in effect, is paid a lower price. That change would allow Fairpoint to operate with less debt. ‘Because, under Maine law, Verizon does not have the right to abandon service without the commission’s approval, the Public Advocate believes it is appropriate for the commission to require Verizon to lower its price in order to ensure Fairpoint’s long-term financial viability. Without a significant reduction in the price, this proposal will not work for Maine’s residential and small business customers,’ Davies emphasized. If Fairpoint and Verizon are unable or unwilling to perform on all of these recommended conditions, the Public Advocate will recommend that the transaction be rejected by the PUC.

Stewart Dimmock accused the British government of “brainwashing” children by requiring that Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth be shown in schools. A judge in Britain’s High Court has ruled in the case that Gore’s apocalyptic movie on climate change should come with a warning that it promotes “partisan political views” and is riddled with errors. The government’s environmental expert witnesses found that many of the movie’s “facts” are incorrect. For example, Gore portrays the ice cover in Antarctica as melting when in fact it is increasing according to expert witnesses. Judge Michael Burton did not ban the movie but ordered the government to rewrite its guidelines to highlight the movie’s falsehoods. Canada.com writes more on Gore’s portrayal of the environment.

Gore’s claim: A retreating glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is evidence of global warming. Finding: The government’s expert witness conceded this was not correct.

Gore: Ice core samples prove that rising levels of carbon dioxide have caused temperature increases. Finding: Rises in carbon dioxide actually lagged behind temperature increases by 800-2000 years.

Expert witnesses, including Dr. Jay Shapiro, a cardiologist from Los Angeles, testified Wednesday in the civil suit filed against Kentucky doctor Mathew Shotwell. The late Peggy Bellamy and her sister Jacqueline Hopkins allege that 49-year-old Donald Bellamy died as a result of Shotwell’s “acts of negligence and gross negligence.” Mr. Bellamy died of a ruptured pseudoaneurysum, ultimately bleeding to death. The Ledger Independent also reports:

Plaintiffs seek compensation for medical expenses, funeral expenses, pain, suffering and lost wages. Life expectancy expert witness Dr. Edward Berla of a Lexington consultant firm testified regarding Donald Bellamy’s work life expectancy based on his record of continuous employment and other factors. Economist expert witness Dr. Ronald Missun testified regarding Donald Bellamy’s expected earnings based on his work life expectancy. He determined the minimum earnings to be more than $616,000, and topping out around $975,000, considering benefits, raises and other factors.

Massey Energy Co. hopes to reverse the 2002 $76 million judgment against them by arguing that a Virginia lawsuit previously addressed the underlying coal contract dispute. Massey attorney D.C. Offutt said the Virginia case, which ended in 2001 with a $6 million judgment in favor of Harman Mining Co., should have precluded its Boone County lawsuit. Offutt alleges bias by Lincoln County Circuit Judge Jay Hoke saying that Hoke appeared to aid Harman by cross-examining several of its expert witnesses. Offutt also argues that Hoke wrongly excluded a Massey coal expert witness. Chron.com also writes:

‘I think he interjected himself too much in this case and became an advocate,’ Offutt said. ‘If you look at his questioning, I don’t think it was impartial. I think it in many ways helped the plaintiffs.’ Justice Robin Davis asked Harman’s lawyer about Hoke’s conduct. She cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that reversed a case because of a judge’s questioning from the bench. ‘I think the question there is whether the judge engaged in rehabilitating witnesses,’ Justice Joseph Albright said at one point. ‘I think Justice Davis’ question is fair in that regard.’

The National Lung Screening Trial is tracking 50,000 smokers over nine years at a cost of $200 million. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the study is expected to have a major impact on whether regular CT scans for smokers will become a standard of care and whether tobacco companies would have to pay for them. The Lung Cancer Alliance maintains that two of the study’s key researchers have conflicts of interest because they have been hired by tobacco companies as defense radiology expert witnesses. David Armstrong of WallStreetJournal.com also writes:

In a written response to the Lung Cancer Alliance, the NCI said the expert witness work was appropriate. “Service as an expert witness, presenting independent analyses based on published medical literature, is a commonly accepted activity for physicians, researchers, and other experts and in the instance of the specific circumstances described did not violate the required disclosure guidelines of the organizations involved,” NCI director John Niederhuber wrote.

To read more see Critics Question Objectivity Of Government Lung-Scan Study by David Armstrong

W.R. Grace & Co. will fight the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that restored criminal charges of “knowing endangerment” in the case against the chemical manufacturer and its top managers. The appellate court also reversed decisions that would have narrowed the definition of asbestos and limited the materials available to expert witnesses. Asbestos expert witnesses will be testifying in the “mega-trial” in Missoula expected to commence in late winter or early spring of 2008.

According to the February 2005 indictment, Grace and six one-time executives concealed the dangers of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mined near Libby and conspired “knowingly to release asbestos, a hazardous air pollutant, into the ambient air” said David M. Uhlmann, Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Program at the University of Michigan. Uhlmann called the Grace prosecution “one of the most significant cases ever brought under the federal environmental crimes program.” The Missoulian also reports:

‘A number of prior cases have charged knowing endangerment, and some of those have involved worker injuries or deaths,’ Uhlmann explained. ‘But the allegations in the Grace case stand alone in terms of the duration of the alleged misconduct and the resulting harm to the citizens of Libby, Montana.’

John A. Zortman, charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Sept. 2, 2006, beating-death of his landlord, was granted his sixth continuence last week. Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brownfield granted the continuence so that Zortman’s attorney would have time to acquire a crime scene analysis expert witness to examine blood splatter evidence. Pekin Times.com also writes:

Court appointed attorney Kevin D. Tippey of Grosboll, Becker, Tice and Tippey law firm in Petersburg told Brownfield that the state plans to present an expert witness on blood spatter at trial and that he needed time to have an expert review the blood spatter evidence that will be presented by Mason County State’s Attorney Kristen Miller. Zortman is accused of attacking and beating Sopher because Sopher confronted him about money that Zortman owed for utilities.

After two days of testimony, a Duluth, Minnesota, jury found that Jammie Thomas was liable for infringing Capitol Records copyrights on all 24 of the 24 recordings at issue. The jury awarded $222,000 in statutory damages after finding that the infringement was “willful.” RIAA’s expert witness, Dr. Doug Jacobson, examined date stamps on Thomas’s hard drive. The computer security expert witness is with the security business Palisade Systems. Eric Bangeman, writing for Ars Technica also writes:

The first case has gone to trial, and the verdict is in. The music labels now have a notch on their belt, while a woman who spent thousands of dollars on their product is now faced with a large judgment.

The RIAA hopes that this and the 20,000 other cases serve as a deterrent to would-be file-sharers, but the question of whether or not the music industry is engendering so much hostility and bad press with its campaign that it outweighs any short-term benefits remains. With a verdict in their favor, the RIAA hopes to ratchet the campaign of fear up a notch and says it will press forward with its legal campaign.