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Evidence

Recent Posts in Evidence Category

  • Case Result | William Escobar Found Not Guilty

    Mark Horwitz recently had the privilege of representing William Escobar who was a member of the Orlando Police Department. Last year he was accused of brutalizing a person he had just arrested. After the release of a video showing the incident Mr. Escobar was charged with 2 counts of battery and 2 counts of perjury for his police report. This video depicted only a few seconds of the entire ...
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  • U.S. Supreme Court grants stay in DNA evidence collection case

    In an opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court recently granted a stay in a rape case involving issues of DNA evidence. The stay was based on the likelihood that the Supreme Court will ultimately review the case to decide the constitutionality of state collection of genetic evidence from people who have not been convicted of crimes. The case involves a Maryland man ...
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  • Court Enforces Confrontation Clause in Bullcoming v. New Mexico

    This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bullcoming v. New Mexico , the latest of a series in cases dealing with the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. By a 5-4 vote, the Court held in Bullcoming that it is a Confrontation Clause violation to admit a forensic lab report into evidence that includes testimonial assertions through the in-court testimony of an analyst who did not sign the ...
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  • "Opening the Door Theory" to Improper Evidence Rejected

    In Redd v. State, 49 So. 3d 329 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010), the defendant was convicted of trafficking in cocaine when police found cocaine in three locations in his house. In reversing the conviction, the court set forth an analysis of the prosecution's often used argument that the Defendant "opened the door" to otherwise inadmissible evidence. A bag containing cocaine was in plain view inside an open ...
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  • Using Inconsistent Prior Statements to Discredit a Witness

    Discrediting a witness with a prior inconsistent statement is an important tool in defending a criminal case. Impeachment however, must be done correctly or the defense may not be allowed to put the prior inconsistent statement before the jury. The case of Barnett v. State , 35 Fla. L. Weekly D2269b (Fla. 3d DCA October 13, 2010) is an example of a conviction that might not have occurred had the ...
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  • Expert Testimony, While Often Helpful, Can Be Wrong And Lead To The Conviction

    Expert Testimony, While Often Helpful, Can Be Wrong And Lead To The Conviction Of An Innocent Person. Defense Attorneys Should Be Vigilant To Prevent Experts From Improperly Testifying That Other Experts Agree With His Conclusion The case of Telfort v. State , 978 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) involved the reversal of a conviction for home burglary based upon the improper admission of the ...
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  • Constitutional Right of Access to DNA Evidence

    The Second District Court in New York, in the case of McKithen v. Brown , 565 F. Supp. 2d 440 (E.D.N.Y 2008) issued a lengthy opinion (53 pages) considering an inmate's constitutional right to have access to DNA evidence. The case involved a conviction for attempted murder in which the inmate had been found guilty of attempting to kill his wife by stabbing her in their home. The appeal was ...
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  • Circumstantial Evidence Law in Florida

    The case of Remor v. State , 991 So. 2d 957 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) involved a prosecution for attempted burglary of a structure and possession of burglary tools, together with resisting arrest without violence. The defendant was in Indian River County at the time of a hurricane and was found walking at night with another individual during curfew hours. When the police attempted to stop the defendant ...
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  • Exception to Hearsay When Evidence Offered to Prove Defendant's Intent

    The case of Camerlengo v. State , 989 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) involved the issue of admission of a document, which the state contended was hearsay. Camerlengo was convicted of grand theft of a trailer. His defense was that he believed he was not stealing the trailer because the person who asked him to take the trailer said it had been transferred to her, and that person was the true owner ...
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