Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Shwayder, No. 01-10156 (9th Cir.) (312 F.3d 1109) (December 5, 2002) (Judge Marsha L. Berzon) by

U.S. v. Toms, No. 97-3047 (D.C. Cir.) (136 F.3d 176) (February 27, 1998) (Judge Patricia M. Wald) by Although the Court observed that it has "several times" warned against the evils of mirroring hypothetical questions on the grounds that such questions constitute impermissible expert testimony about the defendant's mental state, …

U.S. v. Damblu, No. 95-1206, No. 710 (2nd Cir.) (134 F.3d 490) (January 22, 1998) (Judge Richard J. Cardamone) by This case is noted, briefly, because it explores, equally briefly, the all-too-frequent practice of asking hypothetical “guilt assuming” questions of the defendant’s character witnesses. In this case the defendant was …

U.S. v. Levine, No. 94-50588 (5th Cir.) (80 F.3d 129) (March 28, 1996) (Judge James L. Dennis) by The Court observed that a majority of circuits have found that "hypothetical questions mirroring the fact patterns of the evidence in the trial case [violate Rule 704(b)] when the answering testimony contains …

U.S. v. Boyd, No. 92-3020 (D.C. Cir.) (55 F.3d 667) (May 30, 1995) (Judge Harry T. Edwards) by The Court held that Rule 704(b) creates a line that expert witnesses may not cross: they may not opine as to the criminal state of mind of a defendant and the prosecution …

U.S. v. Mason, No. 92-5322 (4th Cir.) (993 F.2d 406) (May 17, 1993) (Judge William W. Jr. Wilkins) by The defendant in this case sought review of his conviction for the distribution of cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school in violation of 21 …