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The Vermont State Police said Friday they have no proof a Rutland police officer intentionally downloaded child pornography onto a department computer while on duty last year. The admission was contained in an unusual statement released by the state police that discussed the status of its investigation into the allegation that the officer had more than 150 images of child pornography on his laptop computer. The state police rarely comment about ongoing investigations.

“There is insufficient evidence to indicate that the images were knowingly and intentionally downloaded,” the statement read in part. “Investigators have consulted with a medical expert regarding the possible age of an individual” in the images, the statement said. “The medical expert has indicated that he cannot say that the individual depicted is under the age of 16.”

For more, see BurlingtonFreePress.com.

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Prison authorities expert witness Richard Lichten gives an inside view on the causes of jail and prison riots:

Perhaps one of the best things the staff can do to keep control is to use the single most powerful weapon available to jail or prison staff… I am talking about the jail keys. There must be good, well thought out security procedures and then making sure those procedures are followed for inmate safety and security to be enhanced. Staff must conduct plenty of searches, keep accurate records, keep on top of maintenance, and most importantly, keep doors (which are called “gates” in jail), securely locked at all times to enhance security and safety. Remember the New Mexico State Prison riot in 1980? I learned that a poorly trained prison guard failed to lock the gate that separated the two sides of the prison which allowed the rioters to spread out and take hostages and kill other inmates throughout the entire prison. I will never forget the wording of a sign above the entrance to one of the large jails I was assigned to. It states, “Good security is not convenient.”

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Emergency medicine expert witness and Chief Editor of web-based eMedicine Dr. Erik Schraga would like legal professionals and experts to know that eMedicine offers continually updated clinical reference information which may prove useful in cases they are working on. The following excerpt on cardiology provides information on myocardial infarction medicolegal pitfalls.

Medicolegal Pitfalls

* Failure to diagnosis a myocardial infarction is the leading cause of litigation against emergency department clinicians and cardiologists.

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In Daubert: Very Convoluted, Usually Confusing to Many, Nevertheless Elegant, Armand Rossetti writes:

Daubert also requires that an expert witness has to assist and not to confuse the Trier of fact. If the Jury (Trier of fact) can understand whether a substance in particular is able to cause an injury and whether an injury resulted from that particular substance, an expert opinion would be redundant and unnecessary.

On the other hand, Rule 403 requires a Court to balance the probative value against the prejudicial effects of expert witness testimony. Courts should not confuse Rule 403 with Rule 703.

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Medical expert witness and Chief Editor of web-based eMedicine Dr. Erik Schraga would like legal professionals and experts to know that eMedicine offers continually updated clinical reference information which may prove useful in cases they are working on. The following excerpt on cardiology provides information on sudden cardiac death medicolegal pitfalls.

Medicolegal Pitfalls * Failure to recognize and initiate early management of patients with ischemic heart disease is a pitfall. The importance of this cannot be overestimated because approximately 80% of SCD cases can be attributed to ischemic heart disease.

* Failure to use appropriate medical therapy for ischemic heart disease (eg, beta-blockers) can be a pitfall.

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In Tough Question Requires Equally Tough Answers, hospitality expert witness Steven Belmonte, President and C.E.O., Hospitality Solutions LLC, asks the questions: “Are product upgrades and renovations really needed during hard economic times?”

In short, you can’t afford to defer upgrades because of the poor economy. To put it another way, you can’t afford not to invest in an upgrade, regardless of the economy’s strength (or lack of it). The truth is, your guests don’t care if the economy is in bad shape, as long as your hotel is in good shape-and if it isn’t, they won’t be back.

Now because of the economic downturn and the resultant difficulty in getting a loan, you may be wondering how you could possibly afford to upgrade when business is down and cash-flow has been reduced to a trickle. One thing to consider is repositioning your product in the marketplace. Don’t let your ego get in the way-there’s nothing to be ashamed of in repositioning to a “lower” segment, and there are many economy-focused products available. It may be the right decision, one that keeps guest expectations in check while eliminating the need to invest what could be millions of dollars to upgrade in order to meet high expectations. Granted, this is not an easy choice: Your average daily rate will be negatively affected, but it may be your only viable alternative. After all, isn’t it better to reposition to a lower tier than to have your guests dissatisfied because their expectations are not being met? Think about it.

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Prison authorities expert witness Richard Lichten gives an inside view on the causes of jail and prison riots:

The jails and prisons must have easy to follow policy and procedures in place for rioting. One of the best ways to stop the fighting is with a very swift, sure, well supervised, well equipped, overpowering response by the emergency response teams. And these teams must have on-going, realistic, verifiable training.

In situations wherein the inmates are not fighting, but rather barricading themselves against the staff in an open revolt, time is not on staff’s side. It has been my experience that negotiating with barricading inmates ought not to last more than two minutes before taking action. While the staff negotiates with the inmates, inmate leadership is emerging, weapons are being fashioned, courage is being amped up, the inmates’ terrain is being fortified, and plans are being made. All of this makes it much more dangerous when the staff finally goes in tactically.

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Jail expert witness Richard Lichten gives an inside view on the causes of jail and prison riots:

One of the reasons it is important to keep the jails and prisons fully funded is inmate and staff safety. In jail and prison, it is a given that inmates will fight. It’s going to happen, and it cannot be stopped. There are a number of things however the staff can do to lessen the violence and keep injuries to a minimum.

It is essential to have proper staffing, training, and supervision. Fewer staff members mean fewer officers walking around talking with the inmates. Sometimes inmates will tell officers about impending violence. Fewer staff means fewer patrols in the cell blocks and yard. With fewer staff the tension in the block and yard will not be felt. Feeling jail and prison tension is essential to do, but you must have staff there to do it. Fewer staff means important clues to danger will be missed. For example, when a number of inmates go to sleep with the clothes and shoes on trouble is brewing. Fewer staff means fewer inmates searched and fewer cell searches for contraband. And fewer staff means less opportunity to train for riots and other emergencies such as earthquake, fire, evacuation, and escape.

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Law enforcement expert witness Richard Lichten gives an inside view on the causes of jail and prison riots:

I’m often asked which is more dangerous, and which is harder time, jail or prison. In my opinion and in the opinion of hundreds of inmates I’ve spoken with, hands down, jail is more dangerous and the time is much harder to serve. The reason for this is that in jail there is a very good chance young, non-violent inmates with little jail savvy will be housed in the same area with hardened, experienced, violent inmates who have no issue taking advantage of the uninitiated and vulnerable. Persons entering jail and prison for the first time have no idea how to act. They haven’t the slightest clue about showing respect to other inmates and have no idea how to interact with the staff. Remember, in jail it’s all about showing respect.

In jail you have far less privacy than in prison. You have far fewer chances to go to school and work, and you have far less recreation time. For example, in jail you might get your allotted three hours of yard time a week, where in prison you can spend hours a day in the yard. Believe me, yard time is a big deal. I’ve had many inmates tell me that they cannot wait to get to “catch the chain” so they can relax in prison.

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In All Should Use Greater Care Handling Underwriting Information, insurance expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

In some instances, there may be an appearance of misrepresentation or omission due to the failure by the insurer to clarify responses to application questions. When presented with ambiguous or conflicting information, it behooves insurers to seek clarification prior to binding coverage or issuing the policy. For example, when an applicant found an application question inapplicable to its business, he amended it in a good faith attempt to provide accurate and complete information, and the insurer issued the policy without seeking clarifications. When a claim occurred, the insurer denied it, citing the answer to the modified question as evidence of misrepresentation.

In certain circumstances only litigation can resolve allegations of misrepresentation or omission. However, the exercise of greater care in obtaining and preparing underwriting information by applicants or brokers, and clarification of ambiguous information by insurers can substantially reduce the number of cases requiring litigation and inevitable delays and costs.