"DEFENSE LAWYERS MAY CHALLENGE THE CREDIBILITY OF EXPERT WITNESSES AGAINST THEIR CLIENTS, INCLUDING MEDICAL EXAMINERS. THE MANAGING ATTORNEY OF THE NEW YORK-BASED INNOCENCE GROUP, WHICH HAS USED DNA EVIDENCE TO WIN EXONERATIONS FOR WRONGFULLY CONVICTED INMATES, SAID IT IS STRANGE THAT PUBLIC DEFENDERS HAD NOT CHALLENGED SHRODE'S CREDIBILITY SOONER. "IF HE LIED ABOUT HIS CREDENTIALS, IT WOULD BE ODD NOT TO ATTACK THEM," DAVID LOFTIS TOLD THE TIMES."
STAR-TELEGRAM; Wikipedia informs us that, "The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex."
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BACKGROUND: Richard Nields was on death row having been convicted of killing his girlfriend Patricia Newsome in Springfield Township (just outside Cincinnati). The Supreme Court of Ohio had scheduled his murder for June 10. The Ohio Parole Board hearing was held May 10. The Parole Board issued its report and recommendation on May 18, 2010. By a 4-3 vote, it recommended that the Ted commute the sentence to life without parole, partly because it found the opinion of medical examiner Paul Shrode was unsupported by the forensic evidence. Defence lawyers also attacked Shrode's credentials. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland commuted the death sentence to life without parole.
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"EL PASO -- The El Paso County public defender's office has expanded its review of cases involving Paul Shrode, who was fired as the county's medical examiner in May, to include all murder and manslaughter cases it has handled since he was hired in 2005," the Star-Telegram story published on June 6, 2010 begins, under the heading, "Review of cases of fired El Paso County medical examiner widens."
"The office has already reviewed cases since 2007 and found none in which it challenged Shrode's credibility in court, the El Paso Times reported Sunday," the story continues.
"That review turned up three cases involving Shrode. Two ended in guilty pleas, and one involved Shrode's testimony about an autopsy by another medical examiner, said Bob Storch, spokesman for the public defender's office.
In Shrode's testimony against Quinn Cruz Jr., his "credentials weren't challenged because he didn't draw any conclusions," Storch said. Cruz was convicted of killing a pregnant woman and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The expanded review will cover 20 cases, Storch said.
A message that The Associated Press left Sunday at a number listed for Shrode was not returned.
El Paso County commissioners fired Shrode last month, more than two years after he acknowledged that he lied on his résumé about having a law degree. Commissioner Veronica Escobar said then that the county was notified last year that Shrode was no longer eligible to become board certified in pathology. He has said he had received the certification years earlier.
Shrode testified in an Ohio capital murder case in which the state parole board is now recommending that the death sentence be overturned. Attorneys for inmate Richard Nields challenged Shrode's testimony, prompting the Ohio Parole Board to recommend that Nields' death sentence be overturned. He is scheduled for execution Thursday. (Publisher's note: The execution was commuted.)
Defense lawyers may challenge the credibility of expert witnesses against their clients, including medical examiners.
The managing attorney of the New York-based Innocence Group, which has used DNA evidence to win exonerations for wrongfully convicted inmates, said it is strange that public defenders had not challenged Shrode's credibility sooner.
"If he lied about his credentials, it would be odd not to attack them," David Loftis told the Times.
In 1991, the Texas Medical Board suspended the medical license of Dr. Juan Contin, then El Paso County medical examiner, then stayed the suspension and placed him on probation for three years. The board cited Contin "for unprofessional conduct likely to deceive, defraud or injure the public," the Times reported. Contin was required to attend 25 hours of ethics courses and pass a medical jurisprudence exam. His probation was lifted, and his license was freed of restrictions in 1994.
Contin was El Paso's medical examiner for 24 years before the commissioners fired him in 2000 for unrelated matters."
The story can be found at:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/06/2243607/review-of-cases-of-fired-el-paso.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
