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After being convicted of premeditated first degree murder, Jeremy Hull took his case to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The reason the defense is appealing the case has to do primarily with their belief that the Mille Lacs County District Court should have granted a Frye hearing in regards to fingerprinting and handwriting evidence.

Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Kimberly Parker argued that a Frye hearing is for novel or emerging techniques and that the report Carlson referred to is not novel or emerging and that it’s the burden of the defense to prove there is novel or emerging techniques. “There’s nothing new here,” she said. But a judge countered that the report is saying the technique is in question and not necessarily valid. The assistant attorney general also pointed out that the defense had an opportunity at trial to attack the handwriting issue, but they did not provide handwriting expert witness testimony to say it wasn’t his handwriting.

For more, see MilleLacsCountyTimes.com.

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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 atrial fibrillation medicolegal pitfalls.

Medicolegal Pitfalls

* Proper anticoagulation is extremely important in both paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation.

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

The need for greater care with handling of underwriting information is not limited to applicants and brokers. Insurers should ask all pertinent questions in the application form because, in many instances, the applicant may be aware of important underwriting information but does not disclose it simply because it was not asked.

Application questions should be limited to seeking factual information rather than eliciting the opinion or judgment of the applicant. For example, when the applicant answered “no” to a professional liability application question as to whether future claims were expected, based on the applicant’s opinion or judgment, the insurer concluded that the response was a misrepresentation or omission just because a claim did occur.

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

The following are examples of alleged misrepresentations or omissions involving litigation:

* the broker asked the applicant to sign a blank application form, completed and released it to the insurer without providing copy to the applicant;

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

State insurance laws generally allow the insurer to deny claims or rescind the policy for misrepresentation or omission, including concealment fact or incorrect statement, if:

* it was material either to the acceptance of the risk or to the hazard assumed by the insurer, or

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After being convicted of premeditated first degree murder, Jeremy Hull took his case to the Minnesota Supreme Court. It’s an automatic appeal and Hull did not waive his right to appeal. Hull, 26, was convicted in 2008 of killing Lewis Wilczek of Little Falls in April 2007, then dismembering, burning and burying Wilczek’s body outside of Foreston. After killing Wilczek, he stole the 21-year-old’s identity. The reason the defense is appealing the case has to do primarily with their belief that the Mille Lacs County District Court should have granted a Frye hearing in regards to expert witness testimony on fingerprinting and handwriting evidence.

A Frye hearing is used to determine whether scientific evidence (produced by an expert witness) is admissible in court. In the 1923 federal Court of Appeals case Frye v. United States, the court held that expert testimony is admissible when the technique or theory it is based on has gained “general acceptance” in the relevant scientific community. In a Frye hearing, the trial court determines whether or not given testimony is, in fact, generally accepted (a Frye hearing is typically called after prosecutors or defense lawyers move to exclude the testimony of an expert witness).

For more, see MilleLacsCountyTimes.com.

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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?”

That’s a question I used to get asked a lot. But, as always, things change-and, obviously, not for the better, at least economically speaking these days. And so the question has changed. In these almost unprecedented hard economic times, the question isn’t so much whether a renovation is needed-rather, it’s whether a renovation is, first, viable and, second, whether it’s a smart thing to do.

This is a question you absolutely must ask yourself, especially in this incredibly tough financial environment. As for the answer … well, here’s what I think: There are two answers to this crucial question-and they both add up to an emphatic “Yes!”

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On his website, aviation expert witness John Ogle, MD, MPH, FACEP, lists FAA medical questions regarding a pilot applicant’s medical history and information on how the FAA considers any problems with respect to flight safety. Here are13-24:

Medical History 13. Mental disorders of any sort; depression, anxiety, etc. (More…)

14. Substance dependence; or failed a drug test ever; or substance abuse or use of illegal substance in the last 2 years (More…)

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At least 51 witnesses may be called upon by the Park District of La Grange, IL, to provide testimony in an upcoming Cook County Circuit Court hearing in support of its petition to sell 2.82 acres of Gordon Park to developer Atlantic Realty Partners. Experts named in the document include real estate valuation expert witness Patricia L. McGarr and real estate expert witness Brian L. Paupore, both of Integra Realty Resources. Witnesses recognized by the court as experts may include opinions in their testimony where appropriate, whereas other witnesses may only speak to the factual nature of any evidence presented.

The Park District reserved the right to add additional witnesses at a later date. Judge Susan Fox Gillis has not yet set a date for the presentation of testimony, but the next status hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19.

For more, see http://everythinglagrange.typepad.com.

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In Product Experience or Expert Experience?, patent infringement expert witness James G. Rice writes:

Because patent litigation is one of the more complex areas of litigation, the expert witness is susceptible to making a critical mistake, for example, during a deposition. From my own experience, it appears that patent litigation is the foremost area of litigation in which technical issues can be strongly interwoven with legal issues. This can lead to the situation during a deposition where what may appear on the surface to be a relatively straight forward technical question can have critical underlying legal implications. I recall being asked during a deposition if a particular element of a claim was a “method.” The wording of the claim was not entirely clear on this issue and a less experienced witness might have simply answered “yes” and thus inadvertently have testified in effect that the claim was invalid. Although the attorney the expert is working with during preparation for the deposition may be excellent, it is difficult, if not almost impossible, to anticipate all of the avenues the opposing attorney may take during the course of a deposition. This makes it all the more important that the expert have strong experience in patent litigation.