Start Date: 2/28/2020 1:00 PM EST
End Date: 2/28/2020 2:30 PM EST
Organization Name:
NAPD
Contact:
Webinar: I Wasn't There: Blocking the Admissibility and Limiting the Weight of Historical Cell Site "Expert" Testimony
February 28, 2020, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, 90 minutes
Webinar Faculty: Andre Allen Vitale
About the Webinar: Historical Cell Site Information cannot tell you where a client was at the time a crime was committed. Historical Cell Site Information is maintained by Cell Phone Companies for use in determining whether they have adequate cell phone “towers” to handle the potential usage by subscribers in a particular area. It was never designed to track or pinpoint a location from which a particular call was made. However, prosecutors are using Historical Cell Site information to create maps with the purpose of claiming a Defendant was located within a relatively close area to the crime scene or to refute an alibi. A Cell phone’s particular location can be tracked and pinpointed, but not through the use of Historical Cell Site data. We will discuss strategies for challenging the admissibility, the scope, and the weight of the prosecution’s proffered testimony regarding Historical cell site data. Attendees will learn the importance of challenging the proffered testimony under either Frye or Daubert. We will also discuss how cell phones “connect” to towers, which will be helpful in limit the weight given the Prosecution’s expert when she tries to claim the Defendant was in a general area at the time of the alleged crime.
About the Faculty: Andre Vitale (Jersey City, NJ). Andre has served as a public defense lawyer for over 20 years as a trial lawyer, training director, educator, and mentor. He currently works as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, where he is assigned to their Hudson Trial Region. Andre is the co–chair of NJ OPD’s Forensic Science Working Group. He has extensive trial experience taking more than 90 cases to verdict, while handling some of the most complex matters. He has developed an expertise in defending homicide and sex cases, with a proficiency in contesting forensic and other technical evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, CSAAS, and eyewitness identification. Andre developed much of his knowledge through his own diligence, but is always happy to share the lessons he has learned with other lawyers so they can benefit from his experience to develop their own skill base and confidence. As a Training Director he has created new, innovative, and interactive programs designed to help attorneys develop legal knowledge, confidence in their abilities, and the skills necessary to be successful lawyers, as well as inspire them to serve as client–centered, relentless advocates for their clients. He has developed programs designed for new attorneys as well as advanced trial skills programs for more experienced lawyers. Andre designed a Defending a Child Sex Case advanced trial skills program, which has been used by State Public Defender Offices in Montana, Missouri, and New Jersey. He is a core faculty member with Gideon’s Promise (gideonspromise.org) and Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Institute Trial Advocacy Workshop (TAW). He has also served on the faculty of the Colorado Alternate Defense Counsel Litigation Academy; the New Jersey Office of the State Defender Trial Skills program; the Bronx Defender’s Academy; the Louisiana Public Defender Training Institute; the Litigation and Persuasion Institute (Kentucky); the Litigation and Talent Academy (Seattle); and Legal Aid Society’s (NYC) DNA Defense College. He is both a presenter and frequent blog contributor for the National Association of Public Defense (publicdefenders.us). Andre previously served three terms as a Board Member with the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL), chairing their Indigent Defense Committee and CLE Committees. Due to his passion and commitment to client–centered representation, Andre has received the Kevin Andersen Award by the New York State Defender’s Association (NYSDA) and the Denison Ray Award by the New York State Bar Association. In addition to his legal accomplishments, Andre has finished twenty–one marathons.