Fearless Advocacy

  For additional reading, check out this article by Edward J. Imwinkelried :  Distinguishing Lay from Expert Opinion: The Need to Focus on the Epistemological Differences Between the Reasoning Process Used by Lay and Expert Witnesses , 68 SMU L. Rev. 73 (Winter 2015)

A couple years after actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard ended their tumultuous romantic relationship,  The Washington Post published an op-ed  authored by Heard in which she claimed to be the victim of intimate partner violence. In the 2018 article, Heard heavily implied that the perpetrator of the violence was Depp. The following year, Depp sued Heard for defamation in state court in Fairfax County, Virginia. Heard subsequently countersued Depp for defamation. In May 2022, the highly publicized jury trial began. High-powered attorneys with apparently limitless budgets called a stream of witnesses - including celebrities and the actors themselves - to air or deny salacious allegations that captivated viewers across the globe. Both Depp and Heard claimed that mental illness played a role in their relationship, but they heavily disputed which of them suffered from mental illness and the type of mental illness. As a result, both parties engaged forensic psychiatrists and psycholo...

State of Minnesota v. Derek Chauvin (2021) George Floyd Background.  Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was one of four officers charged with murder in the death of George Floyd. On May 25, 2020, Chauvin was acting as a field training officer when he physically detained Mr. Floyd - who was suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill - in broad daylight outside a convenience store. After Mr. Floyd was handcuffed and lying in a prone position on the asphalt, Chauvin placed his knee - along with the full weight of his body and gear - on Mr. Floyd's neck and upper body for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, killing him. The entire incident was captured on cell phone video, many taken by minors. Charges.  Several days after Mr. Floyd was killed, Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with murder. The most serious charge listed in the indictment was Second Degree Unintentional Murder under Minn. Code Section 609.19, which states that a person is guilty of the offense when he ...