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Babysitter Katie Sue Savoy, 26, is charged with manslaughter in the death of 11-month-old Lane Leger. Expert witnesses testified that the child’s injuries were inflicted by an adult. Forensic pathologist expert witness Dr. Paul McGarry testified that Leger’s death could not have been the result of falling or bumping his head. The timeline has become a key element in the trial because the defense contends that the child was injured before arriving in Savoy’s care. Prosecutors established a specific time frame for the severe head injuries that led to Leger’s death and expert witness McGarry said he believes Leger may have been injured only an hour before being transported to the hospital. The DailyAdvertiser.com also writes:

The impact happened at great force,” McGarry testified. “The degree of injury is so heavy to break all three bones that I would expect a child with this type of injury to become symptomatic almost immediately.

Savoy was arrested two months later by investigators and if convicted, could face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

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In US v. Ta, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58130, Hoa Quoc Ta hoped to use expert witness Mr. Nguyen Ba Chung as an expert on Vietnamese culture. Ta is charged with kidnapping, carjacking, and “possessing a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence in violation.” But while Chung holds positions as Research Associate at the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences and Project Director of the Rockefeller Program at the University of Massachusetts, the court rejected the expert’s testimony saying that the:

Defendant fails to demonstrate that Chung is qualified to testify competently regarding the subjects he intends to address, that his testimony is reliable under Daubert and its progeny, and that his testimony would aid the trier of fact.

Chung was expected to testify regarding the difference between Vietnamese and American views on family, religion, community, politics and government organizations, crime, and gangs.

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Murray Energy Corp., the company that co-owns the Utah coal mine where six workers are trapped, has incurred millions of dollars in fines over the last 18 months. While the safety record at Utah’s Crandall Canyon mine is good, Murray has 19 mines in five states that have not fared so well. Mining safety expert witness Bruce Dial, owner of Dial Mine Safety, said the $1.46 million in fines so far in 2007 indicate that the company is not taking the necessary steps to remedy problems. According to Forbes.com:

The fine suggested to Dial, who worked for MSHA for 24 years and now testifies in cases as an expert witness, that there was a large quantity of combustible material and a chance of a spark setting off an explosion.

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The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) in London heard testimonies from expert witnesses and former Zimbabwean intelligence officers and police officers regarding HS, an asylum seeker who cannot be named. The lawyers say Britain is not giving amnesty to failed asylum seekers. Deportations to Zimbabwe are currently frozen pending the outcome of the case, but a ruling against HS could trigger a fresh wave of deportations. NewZimbabwe.com reports:

The outcome of the case, which was declared as the new country guidance case for Zimbabwe, could affect thousands of asylum seekers whose applications have been turned down and are now awaiting deportation.

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Stark County, OH, Judge Richard Reinbold ruled that Brian C. Aduddell, accused of murdering his grandparents, was not guilty by reason of insanity. “It’s for life,” said Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero. “There will be periodic reviews, but he could spend the rest of his life there.” Ferrero said his office has a great deal of respect for Dr. Kathleen Stafford, the director/clinical (forensic) psychologist of the Psycho-Diagnostic Clinic in Akron, who evaluated Aduddell. Stafford has been an expert witness for 30 years in about 150 cases.

Aduddell was facing two counts of murder – one count each for Charles Evans, 81, and his wife, Evelyn, 80, of 2129 Mayflower Road N.W. – that carried a possible sentence of 15 years to life. IndeOnline.com also writes that forensic psychology expert witness Stafford:

..used several different methods to evaluate Aduddell including in-depth one-on-one sessions totaling about for hours in May and June, psychological testing, interviews with family and friends, and observations made by deputies at the Stark County Jail, and officers who dealt with him immediately after the crime in Willard, Findlay and Massillon.

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A computer security and forensics expert witness supports the group of Oklahoma University students in their fight against the RIAA. The RIAA had obtained an order compelling the university to turn over the students names and addresses. The expert witness’s declaration supports the students’ motion to vacate the ex parte order and says the RIAA based its motion on information that is “factually erroneous” and “misleading.” According to Recording Industry vs The People.com:

Among other things he pointed out that ‘An individual cannot be uniquely identified by an IP address,’ and that ‘Many computers can be connected to the Internet with identical IP addresses as long as they remain behind control points.’ The students are represented by the same Oklahoma lawyer who recently obtained a award for $68,000-plus in attorneys fees against the RIAA in Capitol v. Foster.

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Troy Anthony Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Savannah police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail but many of the eyewitnesses who identified Davis as the shooter have recalled their testimony. Officer MacPhail was fatally shot in a Burger King parking lot in August of 1989. Davis’ defense lawyers are trying to save him from execution and have hired leading firearms expert witnesses. These expert witnesses have determined that the analysis done soon after the killing was deeply flawed. Ballistics expert witness Kelly Fite concluded that the fornesic analysis done in 1989 was “shoddy and questionable at best and patently wrong at worst.” The questions the defense has raised have bought Davis time. Ajc.com writes:

Last month, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles temporarily halted his execution, just 24 hours before it was to be carried out…And on Friday, the Georgia Supreme Court granted Davis a rare opportunity to make his case for a new trial.

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Polk County, Iowa, prosecutors have asked that the murder case against Justin Pollard be dropped in order to give an expert witness from the FBI time to review crucial videotape evidence. Pollard, 24, is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly running down Annamarie Rittman, 46, in the parking lot of a Lowe’s store in December of 2005. Assistant county attorneys asked that the case be dismissed without prejudice, meaning charges against Pollard can be refiled after a fornesic expert witness reviews the tapes which could take three months. DesMoinesRegister.com also writes:

Authorities remained mum on any possible motive in the crime… Polk County Attorney John Sarcone declined to discuss the motion, citing the pending litigation. Prosecutors say personnel at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia can review…the video and the judge’s order, but that it could take up to three months. Charges against Pollard are likely to be refiled at that time.

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San Diego bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler appointed R. Todd Neilson, a nationally recognized expert witness in bankruptcy cases, to examine hundreds of accounts associated with the Catholic Diocese of San Diego and its parishes.The diocese stated in bankruptcy court that it does not own or control tens of millions of dollars worth of parish assets. The issue of parish-ownership is at the center of the legal struggle between the Roman Catholic diocese and lawyers representing 150 victims of child sexual abuse by priests. SignOnSanDiego.com also writes that the 175-page report, filed by court-appointed financial expert witness Neilson…

found no overarching and consistent accounting system. “As a result (church officials) are often woefully unaware of the specific financial operations of the individual parishes,” it said. This is the first time in five Catholic bankruptcy cases across the country that a judge ordered such a financial review….The bankruptcy petition, which came after four years of unsuccessful settlement negotiations, put on hold the lawsuits filed by men and women who allege they were sexually abused as minors by priests and other church personnel in cases that date back decades.

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Forensic pathology expert witnesses testified Thursday in the murder trial of 17-year-old Antonio Liceaga of Robinson Township, MI. Liceaga is charged with murder and second-degree felony firearms in the shooting death of 14-year-old Felipe Van. Expert witnesses included officers who examined the scene and the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Van’s body. The defense hopes to prove the death was an accident that occured during “play-fighting gone wrong.” GrandhavenTribune.com also reports:

A young teen who was the only eyewitness to the shooting death of 14-year-old Felipe Van appeared nervous and showed signs of inconsistency during his testimony…Dalvin Kann, Van’s 13-year-old cousin, said he was sitting in the living room recliner as Antonio “Tony” Liceaga, 17, went around the chair and shot Van in the head.