Federal Judge Limits Testimony from Bullet-Matching Expert
Faithful readers may remember last month's post reporting on scientific critiques of the forensic methods by which FBI experts compare the metallic composition of bullets to determine whether they came from the same batch.
A correspondent has now drawn to our attention a recent decision excluding FBI bullet-matching testimony in part. See United States v. Mikos, No. 02-cr-137 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 5, 2003) (Guzman, J.). The expert was permitted to testify that the bullets from the crime scene were indistinguishable, in chemical composition, from bullets recovered from the defendant's vehicle. But the testimony was excluded, for want of a sufficiently reliable scientific basis, insofar as the expert sought to opine on the likelihood that the bullets originated from the same manufacturing batch.
A correspondent has now drawn to our attention a recent decision excluding FBI bullet-matching testimony in part. See United States v. Mikos, No. 02-cr-137 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 5, 2003) (Guzman, J.). The expert was permitted to testify that the bullets from the crime scene were indistinguishable, in chemical composition, from bullets recovered from the defendant's vehicle. But the testimony was excluded, for want of a sufficiently reliable scientific basis, insofar as the expert sought to opine on the likelihood that the bullets originated from the same manufacturing batch.
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