Advanced Criminal Law :: West Memphis 3 Professor James R. Elkins College of Law West Virginia University |Spring|2009|
Assignments
Course Writings/Papers
Your final course writings are due by 4 P.M., Monday. April 27.2009. They can be delivered to my office, Rm. 110. (You are welcome, of course, to turn in your papers prior to this date.)(If you do not find me in my office, please turn in your papers to Karen Feather, my secretary, in Rm. 117.
The Course
Monday, January 12, 2009
We'll spend the first week getting oriented and organized. The course will work differently from most of your other courses, and I want to make sure you know what you're getting into. In a 'workshop' style course, virtually everything you learn comes from what you do, in contrast to what you are told by the teacher. My role in the course is simply to guide you through the trial proceedings.
The primary "text" for the course is the trial transcripts. (There were two trials in this case: Jessie Misskelley was tried in the first trial, Jesse Baldwin and Damien Echols in the second trial.) I've also asked you to acquire a copy of Mara Leveritt, Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three (New York: Atria Books, 2002).
You should, as the class gets underway, decide who you want to work with, and how many you want to include in your work group. Instead of arbitrarily designating 4-person work groups, I have decided to allow you to work in groups of 2, 3, or 4. I will leave the forming of work groups up to you. Please let me know next week (January 19|January 21) the composition of your group.
One burdensome task you have before you is printing out a copy of the trial transcripts (and pretrial proceedings) in the two trials.
I'll hand out in class, at our first meeting, an index to the trial transcript that you can use to keep track of our progress in class (and in your printing of the transcript).
You can begin your reading for the course with the pretrial hearings. You'll need the following:
The website that we are going to use for trial transcripts also contains pleadings in the case, and other documents and evidence files. Please read the website FAQ and peruse the West Memphis Three Case - Document Archive so you'll have a sense of what kind of primary/court/trial documents are available.
When you discover links on the course website that do not work, please send me an email note, and I'll see that they are fixed.
Instructor's Notes: We have our first class this afternoon, on a snowy winter day. It's a bit daunting to think about beginning a new semester and fighting the weather at the same time!
My introductory remarks about the course will be relatively brief. The work that lies ahead--reading our way through the trial transcripts--is not unduly complicated. It is this reading, this immersion in the trial transcripts that forms the heart of the course. I expect most of what you'll learn from the course will be from this opportunity to read a trial transcript from beginning to end.
The course will operate somewhat differently from your other courses, and I will try to explain how that is so, today. Part of what we'll do in class each week is try to keep the course (and you, and your work group) on track.
I look forward to meeting with you today and getting our work on the West Memphis 3 case underway.
I want to make the course both interesting and a worthwhile learning experience. If you have any suggestions as to what we are doing or not doing that impede our work in the course, please pass them along.
[Note: In making assignments for weekly reading, I am simply offering suggestions for one way of getting through the material. When you begin work with your group, you may find that a different order of reading necessary. My expectation is that member of the class will read all the pretrial proceedings, and the entire transcript for the Misskelley and Baldwin/Echols trials (unless you are informed otherwise during the course of the semester).]
[The reading assignment for any given class/week, may be more than you find time to undertake. If so, keep in mind that these are continuing assignments, and that the course will, of necessity involve a substantial amount of reading.
Monday, January 19, 2009 :: No Class :: Martin Luther King's Birthday
We talked in class on Wednesday (Jan.14) about the search warrant. I finally tracked down the search warrant on the Free the West Memphis Three website. Search Warrant: pg. 1 -- pg. 2 -- pg. 3 -- pg. 4 -- pg. 5
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Work Groups: Please let me know by or at our January 21st class whether you are part of a work group, and who you will be working with.
Jessie Misskelley Statement: Given the key role of the Jessie Misskelley statement (confession) in the case, I'd like for you to print and read the police/detectives investigative and interview notes (Mike Allen, Bryn Ridge, Gary Gitchell), consent forms, statement of Jessie Misskelley (June 3, 1993), so-called 2nd interview of Misskelley (June 3, 1993), and Misskelley Statement of February 17, 1994.
All of the notes, reports, and Misskelley statements are located in the Documents section of the Document Archive website. All of the documents are of June 3, 1993 (unless otherwise noted).
Monday | Wednesday, January 26|28, 2009 [Jan.26 Chinese New Year]
Print|Read: Opening Statements and the state's case in the trial of Jessie Misskelley. See: Trial Transcripts, West Memphis Three Case--Document Archive. (The transcribed versions of the Jessie Misskelley trial are clearly marked on the website.)(Please let me know if there is any of the audio of witness testimony that you think we might want to listen to in class.)
For Use in Your Evaluation of the Opening Statements: Opening Statements (web resources collected for students in the "Art of Advocacy" course, taught by Professor Elkins, Spring, 2008)
Collateral Documents: There are some key documents associated with the opening days of the Jessie Misskelley trial, that you'll need to read. They include:
Detective Mike Allen's notes of June 3rd interview of Jessie Misskelly: pg.1 -- pg. 2
Detective Ridge's notes of his June 3rd interview of Jessie Misskelley: pg. 1 -- pg. 2 -- pg. 3 -- pg. 4 -- pg. 5
[Note: The list of documents you need to examine may be expanded as I continue to read through the transcript of the prosecution's case.]
For Evaluation of the Cross-Examination by Defense Counsel: Cross-Examination (web resources collected for students in the "Art of Advocacy" course). We begin to see the first sign of problems, in Stidham's cross-examination of detective Mike Allen, in his 2nd appearance [trial transcript] and the problems become more obvious still, in the cross-examination on Detective Ridge's 2nd appearance [trial transcript].
In order to critique Dan Stidham's cross-examination of the witnesses in the Jessie Misskelley trial, I recommend that you read "Exposing the Hidden Truth--Cross-Examination," in Gerry Spence, Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time 168-222 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005). I wouldn't think about trying a case without a thorough understanding of Spence's approach to trial advocacy. [See: The Art of Advocacy]
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Review Gerry Spence video on opening statements. [I recommend, as reading for this Spence presentation, his chapter on opening statements in his book, Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005), which I've placed on Reserve in the Library. For a review of web resources on opening statements see: Opening Statements (a collections of resources I compiled for my 'Art of Advocacy' course.]
Baldwin/Echols Trial (State's Case) :: March , 1994
Review the transcript of the Dale Griffis (in camera) voir dire: Transcript
We'll listen to the bench conference that follows the Griffis in camera/voir dire and part of Griffis testimony in class. (There are no on-line transcripts of the bench conference and the testimony.)
[If you're jammed for time, or can't stand the thought of reading three Supreme Court opinions, you can review these decisions by way of Margaret A. Berger's article, "The Supreme Court's Trilogy on the Admissibility of Expert Testimony."][on-line text][Margaret A. Berger is Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School. Berger was a member of the panel that issued the National Academy of Sciences report on forensic science and crime labs in February, 2009. The article appears in the Federal Judicial Center, Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence (2nd ed., 2000)][Or, if you're desperate, you can try the Wikipedia commentaries Daubert standard & Daubert opinion :: Kumho Tire Co.]
[For my part, I've been reading about Daubert for years; it's now, finally, time to read the Daubert opinion and the two most significant cases to follow it.]
Note: I have known, for some years, that audio recordings of Supreme Court arguments were available by way of the The Oyez Project. But for some reason, I had never gotten around to listening to a Supreme Court argument until I posted this assignment. I have now listened to Mr. Gottesman and Mr. Fried argue the Daubert case and I must say, it was both enjoyable, instructive, and educational. If you're trying to figure out the meaning of Daubert and how Rule 702 & Rule 703 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (on the admissibility of expert testimony) work, you may find the oral arguments in Daubert helpful. I have provided links to the oral arguments in Daubert, Joiner, and Kumho Tire along with the citations and on-line text of the opinions.
Monday||Wednesday. March 9|March 11. 2009
Griffis testimony: We'll continue the Dale Griffis testimony by listening to the defense cross-examination of Griffis: Audio
Monday|Wednesday. March 16|18.2009 Springbreak :: No classes
Monday. March 23.2009
Closing Arguments: Baldwin|Echols Trial
[Note: The closing arugment of the defense counsel representing Damien Echols is available on audio.]
Supplemental Reading: Drew Findling, Closing Argument: Tapping the Human Experience, 42 Mercer L. Rev. 659 (1991)
Wednesday. March 25 (We'll begin class at 12:00|Noon) for a film
"Paradise Lost 2: Revelations" [2 hrs. 10 mins.]
Monday. March 30
Board, McGee & Mendenhall: On false confessions.
If you have not already reviewed the on-line resources I compiled when we read the Jessie Misskelley trial transcipt, you might want to review them now: Coerced & False Confessions
False confessions, oddly enough, occur with more frequency than you might imagine. I am now working on a "new version" of advanced criminal law that will focus on crime film documentaries, and several of the documentaries involve false confessions. One in particular that I recommend is "Murder on a Sunday Morning" (2001), a film by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, that won an Academy Award in 2001 for Best Documentary Film. The film focuses on a murder case: Brenton Butler, a 15-year-old African-American, was accused of murdering a woman in Florida. "The film features exclusive courtroom footage as well as interviews with the youth's public defenders, including attorney Patrick McGuinness, who uncovered startling evidence that raised serious doubts about the police investigation and subsequent interrogation tactics." HBO Documentary Films
Wednesday. April 1: Becker & Cipolat, "Penetrating the Smokescreen: Motivational Bias, Cognitive Bias, and the West Memphis Three."
McGee will finish his presentation on the Jessie Misskelley confession
Monday. April 6: Dan Stidham's Visit
For Judge Dan Stidham's visit on Monday, you might find his comments to Mara Leveritt about his involvement in the WM3 case of interest: Mara Leveritt blog
Wednesday. April 7: Adkins, Belch, Holley, Walker: Expert Witnesses in the WM3 Cases
As background reading for the Adkins/Belch/Holley/Walker presentation, see: "This is the first study to explore the forensic science testimony by prosecution experts in the trials of innocent persons, all convicted of serious crimes, who were later exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing. Trial transcripts were sought for all 156 exonerees identifed as having trial testimony by forensic analysts, of which 137 were located and reviewed." Synopsis to, Brandon L. Garrett & Peter J. Neufeld, Invalid Forensic Science Testimony and Wrongful Convictions, 95 Vir. L. Rev. 1 (2009) [on-line text of the entire article]
Monday. April 13: Presentation (Individual) by Legg: "Devil's Advocate: The Expert Testimony of Dr. Dale Griffis"
Adkins, Belch, Holley, Walker will continue their presentation on "Expert Witnesses in the WM3 Cases." For background reading see: Brandon L. Garrett & Peter J. Neufeld, Invalid Forensic Science Testimony and Wrongful Convictions, 95 Vir. L. Rev. 1 (2009) [on-line text of the entire article]
Wednesday. April 15: Chapman, Lewis, McGhee, Selbe, "Post Trial Proceedings in the WM3 Cases"
Monday. April 20: Presentation by Dixon: "Advocacy in the Echols/Baldwin Trial"
Advanced Criminal Law :: West Memphis 3 
Monday, January 12, 2009
