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Colin Miller Profile picture
Colin Miller
@EvidenceProf
Associate Dean and Professor @UofSCLaw; Blog Editor, EvidenceProf Blog; Co-Host, @Undisclosedpod
Jun 9 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
This seems like the first truly undeniable error in the Karen Read trial: not allowing a medical examiner to testify regarding dog bites and pattern recognition. It's hard to convey just how low the bar is for expert testimony #thread Image First, to be clear, a medical examiner who has treated hundreds of dog bite victims is 100% qualified to testify regarding dog bites and pattern recognition. Here is just one of many examples: State v. Ford, 782 S.E.2d 98 (N.C. App. 2016): caselaw.findlaw.com/court/nc-court…
Jun 3 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
HUGE moment in the Karen Read trial. This tees up a really strong argument on appeal if Read is convicted of any of the charges. Why? When a prosecutor references facts not in evidence, the judge has 2 options: (1) curative instruction; or (2) mistrial if a curative instruction would be insufficient to erase the prejudice.
Oct 12, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Earlier this week, DNA testing exonerated Adnan Syed. Tomorrow, John Brookins has a hearing seeking parole in a case in which DNA testing can prove his innocence. But the State refuses to test the evidence & @DrOz is using the case to attack @JohnFetterman bit.ly/3RXpTyn Please, @DrOz, as a doctor, join the defense in requesting that the crime scene evidence be tested for DNA. This should be a case about facts & science, not politics.
Sep 14, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
BOOM! "Adnan Syed Murder Conviction Should Be Vacated, Prosecutors Say": wsj.com/articles/adnan… "The state’s attorney for Baltimore City said in a motion filed Wednesday in circuit court that a nearly yearlong investigation, conducted with the defense, found new evidence, including information concerning the possible involvement of two alternative suspects."
Oct 4, 2021 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
As the Juvenile Restoration Act takes effect in Maryland, I hope judges do NOT make admission of guilt a prerequisite for a sentenced reduction. The case of Cyrus Wilson is instructive: undisclosed-podcast.com/episodes/bonus… Wilson had just turned 18 when he was charged with the first degree murder of Christopher Luckett in 1992. He always maintained his innocence. This is often a roadblock to parole, what's known as the "innocent prisoner's dilemma."
Sep 17, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Eleventh Circuit grants qualified immunity to prison officer who left inmate w/broken bone and partially-severed tendon in a cell that was 3 feet from medical examination room for several hours: media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/f… In finding that the officer didn't violate a clearly established right, the court found that the inmate was *only* "'leaking' an indeterminate amount of blood 'all over' and leaving a 'path of blood.'"
Sep 16, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Is it a Fourth Amendment search if police officers touch the hood and/or wheel well of a car to determine if it had been recently driven? utcourts.gov/opinions/supop… In an opinion today, the Supreme Court of Utah found it didn't have to answer this question b/c the automobile exception applied: utcourts.gov/opinions/supop…
May 29, 2020 • 25 tweets • 7 min read
My @UofSCLaw students @ac_parham/@JasCaruthers & I have been researching no-knock warrant data for the Breonna Taylor case. Some preliminary findings #thread cc: @ACLUofKY @louisvillemayor @GovAndyBeshear @djaycameron The @denverpost reviewed no-knock warrant requests for a 1-year period from 1999-2000. 167 no-knock warrants were requested. 162 were approved and only *5* were denied (3% denial rate).
May 7, 2020 • 144 tweets • 10 min read
Ronnie Long can prove his innocence today after *44 years* of wrongful conviction. I will be live tweeting about oral arguments, which you can livestream here at 9:00am EST: Long is claiming Brady violations based upon forensic evidence that has been withheld for decades such as a suspect hair from the crime scene that was not a match for him & dozens of fingerprints which also weren't a match.
Jan 7, 2020 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Potentially HUGE news for Adnan Syed. Court of Special Appeals of Maryland orders the circuit court to issue a writ of actual innocence in the James Kulbicki case: courts.state.md.us/sites/default/… Kulbicki's case, you might recall, is the main (only?) case that the State/Thiru Vignarajah used to argue against Adnan's cell tower claim.
Nov 6, 2019 • 60 tweets • 5 min read
Oral arguments starting in the Joey Watkins case. I will live tweet in this thread: gasupreme.us/live/ Joey's attorney argues cell tower evidence shows he couldn't have gotten to the crime scene in time for the murder.
Nov 2, 2019 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Dear @Undisclosedpod listeners (and anyone else interested): You can stream the Supreme Court of Georgia oral arguments in the Joey Watkins case on Wednesday, November 6th here: gasupreme.us/watch/ @Undisclosedpod Oral arguments start that day at 10:00am EST, and his case is the second one on the docket.
Oct 21, 2019 • 6 tweets • 6 min read
San Franciscans: I'm as excited about @chesaboudin as I was about @DA_LarryKrasner. He has a compelling personal story & a BEAUTIFUL criminal justices reform platform. Please spread the word & consider voting for him on 11/5. He's EXACTLY the type of progressive DA we need! @chesaboudin @DA_LarryKrasner Here's his agenda for preventing wrongful convictions, which is both backward AND forward looking: chesaboudin.com/wrongful_convi…
Mar 8, 2019 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Breaking down what the Maryland courts have found in the Adnan Syed PCR Proceeding in 4 tweets: Adnan’s trial counsel was Constitutionally deficient in both failing to contact an alibi witness and failing to use the AT&T disclaimer to question the State’s cell tower expert. 1/4 The crux of the State’s case was not the time of Hae’s death; instead it was evidence/testimony connected to the Leakin Park pings. 2/4
Dec 9, 2018 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
The movement to contact @BillHaslam (615-741-2001) to ask for clemency for Cyntoia Brown is gaining traction. If you call, you can cite my report finding that Tennessee has by far the harshest juvenile sentencing laws in the country: lawprofessors.typepad.com/evidenceprof/2… In Tennessee, Cyntoia isn't eligible for parole until serving 51 years. In the second harshest state -- Oklahoma -- she'd be eligible for parole after 38.25 years. In the majority of states, she'd be eligible for release after serving 20 or fewer years.
Nov 7, 2018 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
A rundown on how criminal justice reform did at the ballot box last night. First, Louisiana voters voted to end nonunanimous jury verdicts in felony cases. Now, effective January 1st, verdicts must be unanimous: usnews.com/news/best-stat… Second, Florida voters voted to end felony disenfranchisement, restoring the right to vote to 1.5 million Floridians. It will be interesting to see which state next tackles this issue: businessinsider.com/felony-disenfr…
May 20, 2018 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
In its cert petition in the Adnan Syed case, the State picked up on Judge Graeff's citation to Broadnax v. State in her dissent, but I just realized that her citation was very...creative. Quote 1: “It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to prove a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel without questioning counsel about the specific claim, especially when the claim is based on specific actions, or inactions, of counsel that occurred outside the record.”
Apr 4, 2018 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I've preliminarily identified 64 Reported COSA Opinions in criminal cases from 1968-2018 in which there was a dissent. Time to see how often the Court of Appeals granted cert in those cases. In the 10 cases from 2002-2016, COA granted cert 8 times and denied cert twice. In those 8 cases, COA affirmed 3 times and reversed/vacated 5 times.