STORY: "Judge boots expert witness in heroin trial," by reporter Ryan Boetel, publiehed by The Albuquerque Journal on March 31, 2017.
GIST: "A blunder by prosecutors has turned the final days before the opening of the trial against Raymond Moya – charged with a rarely pursued crime of heroin distribution resulting in death – into a scramble. U.S. District Court Judge Judith Herrera this week excluded an expert witness for the prosecution because prosecutors inadvertently broke court rules by leaving the expert’s name off their witness list and they didn’t provide the defense with reports on what the expert was expected to testify to. The witness, Dawn Sherwood, certified the toxicology report that showed 18-year Cameron Weiss had heroin and other drugs in his system when he died in August 2011, according to court filings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Sullivan asked in court on Thursday during an “emergency status conference” that other experts who can testify be allowed to introduce the toxicology report. But he acknowledged that the judge’s ruling was a “significant development” to the federal case. The toxicology results themselves are critical and essential evidence in this case and the United States needs a pretrial ruling on this evidentiary issue in order to assess its options for proceeding to trial,” the prosecution’s motion states. “If the Court defers ruling until after the empanelment of the jury, and then rules against the United States, the United States will have no appellate recourse due the attachment of double jeopardy.” “My inclination is to deny your request,” the judge said in court.........Amy Sirignano, one of Moya’s attorneys, said that the toxicology report was used by the Office of the Medical Investigator to determine that Weiss died of heroin toxicity. She said if details of the report – even introduced by someone else – are used at trial, her client has the right to cross examine the person who certified them. The defense intends to challenge whether heroin was the sole cause of Weiss’ death. “There has to be somebody who brings it all together and certifies the data,” she said in court."
The entire story can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. 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/
