Articles Posted in Experts

Expert Can Testify About “Role-Playing In … Sexually Explicit Conversations On The Internet”, Federal Evidence Review, 25 September 2008.

For those of us who have done internet solicitation cases, the concept of role-playing and lying amongst participants is a known serious issue.  These cases, as have mine, usually come up because the client shows up to meet the too young for prime time player.  Low and behold blow, it's a cop.  The defense then is "I didn't believe she was under age, I thought this was all part of the game, and that I was going to meet an adult interested in some role-play sex."  Of course these police stings are the ultimate role-playing game. 

In United States v. Joseph, 542 F.3d 13 (2d Cir. 2008), the divided court reversed the conviction.  In dicta, the court said the court should reconsider the denial of expert testimony about role-playing in internet chat sessions, at retrial.

What do you do if you have government sponsored or endorsed "science" that helps catch thieves, cheats, and liars, and other scientists question the validity of your science — you threaten a lawsuit for libel.

Professor Tillers has picked up on the interesting topic of voice analysis as first raised on Deception blog.  He's noted the interesting twists on the issue, including the fact that the magazine that first published the contradictory article removed it from the web — too late.  The offending article was already snapped up and is still available.

See, Prof. Peter Tillers, Voodoo Science in Some Putative Lie Detection Techniques?  Tillers on Evidence and Inference, 16 February 2009.

In April we posted about Crawford and expert testimony,

and we've blogged about other confrontation issues. A commenter has

brought some helpful information to our attention, and now yours.