Steve Mercer Invited to Address the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) (Washington, D.C.) On January 14, 2016, Steve Mercer addressed by invitation PCAST during a closed session. Steve also submitted this written statement discussing the...
3 NG’s in Murder Trials Highlight Limits Of Cell Phone Location Evidence Appointed public defenders recently secured acquittals in three murder prosecutions involving cell phone location evidence that was central to the State’s theories of guilt. These defense...
The COSA Holds Drug Court Sanction Involving Jail Is Appealable; Due Process Rights of Participants Violated When Drug Failed To Conduct Formal Adversarial Hearing. Reported in the Court of Special Appeals (April 27, 2017): Brookman v. State (No. 182) & Carnes v....
The strong demand in criminal cases for historical cellular location information has created opportunities for law enforcement to extend the limits of what is possible. The FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) is promoting a new methodology that it claims greatly...
Challenging The Factual Basis Of Historical Cell Site/Tower Location Opinion Evidence Under Rule 5-702 Cellular service has become an integral part of our daily life. But it does not follow from our user experience with reliable cellular service that historical...
June 2014 At its May 22nd conference, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in twelve of the fifteen petitions–some held since the beginning of the term–that asked the Court to resolve the conflict in lower courts over when a forensic science report is testimonial for...
On May 27, the Court of Special Appeals in State v. Hailes, 2014 Md. App. LEXIS 49 (2014) (Moylan, J.), held that a common law dying declaration (not the broader rule based dying declaration) is exempt from the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause, and...
Trial Court Erred When It Permitted A Police Officer To Testify As A Lay Witness About The Detection Of Accelerants By Canine Simpson v. State – No: 2833, Sept. 25, 2013 (COSA Sept. Term 2012) (Hotten, J.). On appeal from the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County...