STORY: "A successful appeal," published on the "On SBS" blog. (We are grateful to the "On SBS" blog for bringing this case to our attention. HL);
GIST: "An appeals court in Florida has partially reversed a shaking conviction, ordering a new trial because the first judge had excluded biomechanical testimony.........From the decision: "Assuming the trial court erred in excluding Dr. Lloyd’s testimony, the state argues any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because (1) appellant presented testimony from Dr. Edward Willey, a former medical examiner who practiced forensic medicine, that the victim’s injury could have been the result of the victim’s own rambunctiousness or playing; and (2) defense counsel’s primary argument during trial was the victim’s injuries could have been intentionally inflicted by the victim’s mother. However, Dr. Lloyd’s testimony was not merely cumulative to the testimony of Dr. Willey, who had not conducted systematic studies on brain injuries due to falls and was not allowed to testify that the victim’s brain injuries could not have been caused by shaking due to the victim’s size. Furthermore, even though defense counsel argued the victim’s injuries could have been inflicted by the victim’s mother, this did not diminish the fact that appellant was not allowed to present relevant evidence on his alternative theory of accidental injury. Accordingly, the state has failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the trial court’s ruling excluding Dr. Lloyd’s testimony did not affect the jury’s verdict."
The entire post can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
