You are here: / / DENIAL, WITHOUT A HEARING, OF DEFENSE MOTION TO PRESENT EXPERT TESTIMONY...
,

DENIAL, WITHOUT A HEARING, OF DEFENSE MOTION TO PRESENT EXPERT TESTIMONY ON THE SCIENCE OF FALSE CONFESSIONS WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION.

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Kapnick, over an extensive two-justice dissent, determined, under the facts, the trial court abused its discretion when it denied, without a hearing, defendant's motion to present expert opinion evidence concerning the science of false confessions:

First, there is no dispute that Dr. Drob concluded that defendant exhibited traits such as, “borderline intellectual functioning, cognitive, social and emotional immaturity, severe deficits in reality testing and deficits in the capacity to understand the actions and intentions of others, deficits in his capacity to cope with interpersonal stress, anxiety, depression, dependency, passivity and a desire to please others, and a concomitant tendency to rely on others for direction and support.” There can also be no dispute that these particular mental conditions and personality traits are ones that research studies have linked to false confessions, and that the Court of Appeals has recognized this link (Bedessie, 19 NY3d at 159 …).

Second, certain conditions of the interrogation suggest that defendant could have been induced to confess falsely to the crimes at issue. The defense urges that the detectives' interrogation employed a variety of techniques that scientific research has shown to be highly correlated with eliciting false confessions. …

Finally, this is a case … that turns on the accuracy of defendant's confessions.  People v Evans, 2016 NY Slip Op 03988, 1st Dept 5-19-16

CRIMINAL LAW (DENIAL, WITHOUT A HEARING, OF DEFENSE MOTION TO PRESENT EXPERT TESTIMONY ON THE SCIENCE OF FALSE CONFESSIONS WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, DENIAL, WITHOUT A HEARING, OF DEFENSE MOTION TO PRESENT EXPERT TESTIMONY ON THE SCIENCE OF FALSE CONFESSIONS WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION)/FALSE CONFESSIONS (CRIMINAL LAW, DENIAL, WITHOUT A HEARING, OF DEFENSE MOTION TO PRESENT EXPERT TESTIMONY ON THE SCIENCE OF FALSE CONFESSIONS WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION).EXPERT OPINION EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, DENIAL, WITHOUT A HEARING, OF DEFENSE MOTION TO PRESENT EXPERT TESTIMONY ON THE SCIENCE OF FALSE CONFESSIONS WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION)

You might also like
Flawed Jury Instruction Re: Assisted Suicide Affirmative Defense to Murder Required New Trial
Allowing Testimony that Defendant’s Name Was Mentioned in an Out-of-Court Conversation About the Underlying Assault Was (Harmless) Error/The Confrontation Clause Was Not Implicated Because the Hearsay Was Not Testimonial/Admission of the Hearsay Was Not Justified as “Completing the Narrative” or “Preventing Jury Confusion”
AS PLAINTIFF WAS REMOVING DUCTS FROM THE CEILING, A PORTION OF A DUCT STRUCK PLAINTIFF AND THE A-FRAME LADDER CAUSING HIM AND THE LADDER TO FALL TO THE FLOOR; IT IS ENOUGH THAT THE LADDER WAS “UNSECURED;” PLAINTIFF NEED NOT SHOW THE LADDER WAS DEFECTIVE (FIRST DEPT). ​
PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT’S AFFIDAVIT IN THIS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTION DID NOT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS DEFENDANT’S EXPERT’S OPINIONS, THEREBY WARRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANT (FIRST DEPT).
BURGLARY SECOND DEGREE AS A SEXUALLY MOTIVATED FELONY IS NOT A REGISTRABLE OFFENSE UNDER SORA; DEFENDANT’S SEX OFFENDER ADJUDICATION VACATED (FIRST DEPT).
DEFENDANT’S PARTICIPATION IN A SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE DID NOT WAIVE HIS RIGHT TO SEEK DISMISSAL OF THE FORECLOSURE ACTION AS ABANDONED (FIRST DEPT).
Presumption Tenants-In-Common Share Equally Can Be Rebutted
PLAINTIFFS’ CONCLUSORY ALLEGATIONS OF AN AGENCY RELATIONSHIP INSUFFICIENT TO DEMONSTRATE A BASIS FOR LONG-ARM JURISDICTION, MOTION TO DISMISS PROPERLY GRANTED.

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

COURT OF CLAIMS LACKS JURISDICTION WHERE MONEY DAMAGES ARE MERELY INCIDENTAL... FALL FROM LADDER WHILE SETTING UP AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT NOT COVERED BY LABOR...