Text extracted via OCR from the original document. May contain errors from the scanning process.
S2 20 Cr. 330 (AJN)
Defendant.
THE GOVERNMENT'S MEMORANDUM OF LAW
DAMIAN WILLIAMS
United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York
One St. Andrew's Plaza
New York, New York 10007
Assistant United States Attorneys
Of Counsel
EFTA00024954
1
I.
APPLICABLE LAW
1
11.
4
A.
Dr. Hall's Opinions
Are Irrelevant
5
B.
The Bases of Dr. Hall's Opinions Are Not Independently Admissible
12
C.
Any Undisclosed Significance of Dr. Hall's Opinions Is Inadmissible
14
D.
Dr. Hall's Fact Testimony Is Inadmissible
15
III.
GERSHMAN
20
IV.
BEFORE THE DEFENDANT'S REMAINING WITNESSES OFFER EXPERT
NOTICE 21
A.
B.
Robert Kelso and
22
Forensic Document Specialists
24
CONCLUSION
26
EFTA00024955
The defendant has notified the Government that she plans to call six additional experts.
One of them, Dr. Ryan Hall,
and drafted a lengthy report, containing largely a recitation of hearsay, attributing some but not all
o
Another, Bennett
Gershman, is a purported expert on prosecutorial misconduct. Neither of these issues is relevant
at trial. and both experts should be precluded.
The defendant has failed to provide adequate notice as to the four remaining experts.
Instead of describing those experts' opinions and the bases for them, as required by Rule 16, the
notice identifies topics on which the experts might testify. The Government is therefore not able
to interpose a Dauber: challenge at this time.' The Court should require the defense to provide
supplemental expert notice forthwith or preclude these witnesses from testifying.
I.
APPLICABLE LAW
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(b)(1)(C) provides that where, as here, the
Government has provided expert notice and requested reciprocal notice from the defense, the
defendant "must . . . give to the government a written summary of any [expert] testimony that
the defendant intends to use ... as evidence at trial." Such summary must "describe the witness's
opinions, the bases and reasons for those opinions, and the witness's qualifications." Fed. R.
As described below, however, insofar as two of these witnesses will testify as fact witnesses
related to computer forensics and financial records, the Government does not object to their
testimony on Dauber: grounds.
1
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Crim. P. 16(b)(1)(C).
As the 1993 amendments to Rule 16 note, the Rule is meant to "minimize surprise that
often results from unexpected expert testimony, reduce the need for continuances, and to provide
the opponent with a fair opportunity to test the merit of the expert's testimony through focused
cross-examination." Id. 1993 Amend. Accordingly, the Rule requires the defense to provide
(1) "notice of the expert's qualifications which in turn will permit the requesting party to
determine whether in fact the witness is an expert within the definition of Federal Rule of
Evidence 702;" (2) a "summary of the expected testimony," which "pennit[s] more complete
pretrial preparation by the requesting party;" and (3) "a summary of the bases of the expert's
opinion." Id.
The content of the expert notice must actually "summarize the experts' opinions."
United States v. Ulbricht, 858 F.3d 71, 115 (2d Cir. 2017), abrogated on other grounds by
Carpenter v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2206 (2018). "Merely identifying the general topics about
which the expert will testify is insufficient; rather, the summary must reveal the expert's actual
opinions." United States v. Valle, No. 12 Cr. 847 (PGG), 2013 WL 440687, at *5 (S.D.N.Y.
Feb. 2, 2013); see Ulbricht, 858 F.3d at 115 (calling "plainly inadequate" a disclosure that
"listed general and in some cases extremely broad topics on which the experts might opine").
The notice then must describe the bases and reasons for those opinions. "[A] general description
of possible bases does not meet the requirements of Rule 16(b)(1)(C)." United States v. Tuzman,
2017 WL 6527261, at *10 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 18, 2017) (internal quotation marks omitted).
"Merely asserting that [an expert] will provide [an] opinion based on some unspecified method
. .. based on data from unspecified sources, does not suffice." United States v. Ulbricht, No. 14
2
EFTA00024957
Cr. 68 (KBF), 2015 WL 413318, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 1, 2015), aff'd, Ulbricht, 858 F.3d 71. A
district court has "broad discretion" over the remedy for failure to comply with Rule 16,
including "ordering the exclusion of evidence." Ulbricht, 858 F.3d at 115 (internal quotation
marks omitted).
As the Court is well aware, a properly noticed expert witness may then testify if such
testimony complies with Federal Rule of Evidence 702. Accordingly, before admitting expert
testimony, the Court must conclude that (1) the witness is qualified to be an expert, (2) the
proposed expert testimony is reliable, and (3) the proposed testimony is relevant. See Dauber!
v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 592 (1993); Nimely v. City of New York, 414 F.3d
381, 396 n.11 (2d Cir. 2005). "Expert testimony which does not relate to any issue in the case
is not relevant and, ergo, non-helpful." Daubers, 509 U.S. at 591 (internal quotation marks
omitted). The party that proffers the testimony bears the burden of showing that it is admissible
by a preponderance of the evidence. See id. at 592 & n.10 (citing Bout-Oily v. United States,
483 U.S. 171, 175-76 (1987)).
Rules 401 and 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence state that relevant evidence is
admissible when it tends to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence more or less
probable than it would be without the evidence, but it may be excluded if its probative value is
substantially outweighed by, among other things, the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the
issues, and misleading the jury. "Expert evidence can be both powerful and quite misleading
because of the difficulty in evaluating it. Because of this risk, the judge in weighing possible
prejudice against probative force under Rule 403 . .. exercises more control over experts than over
lay witnesses." Daubers, 509 U.S. at 595 (quoting authority omitted). Among other things, the
3
EFTA00024958
Court "must consider whether an expert's proposed testimony would usurp the province of the
judge to instruct on the law, or of the jury to make factual determinations." Island Intel!. Prop.
LLC v. Deutsche Bank AG, No. 09 Civ. 2675 (KBF), 2012 WL 526722, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 14,
2012) (citations omitted).
II.
Dr. Ryan Hall is a psychiatrist who frequently testifies as an expert witness.
. According to the notice
provided by the defendant, Dr. Hall "will offer the opinions and diagnoses contained in hisM
report, the bases for those opinions, and the significance of the diagnoses and opinions." (Ex. A,
Def. Expert Notice, at 12).2
This Court should exclude Dr. Hall's testimony. As disclosed, his expert opinion=
have no relevance, because none bears on the facts of this case or Minor Victim-4's
credibility. Any basis for those opinions is therefore also irrelevant. Similarly, absent some as-
yet-undisclosed relevance, the "significance" of Dr. Hall's opinio
have no bearing
here: Because none of those opinions bear on the facts of this case or a witness's credibility, their
introduction would sent 0111
Dr. Hall's proffered fact testimony should also be
2
The Government has attached, and moves to file, the same redacted version of the defendant's
expert notice attached to its previous filings (See Dkt. Nos. 418 and 424).
4
EFTA00024959
excluded. Much of it would constitute hearsay, and the small portion that may not would run afoul
of other rules of evidence.
A. Dr. Hall's Opinions
Are Irrelevant
3
The Government moves to redact portions of this brief and seal Exhibit B, which is Dr. Hall's
evaluation of Minor Victim-4, in accordance with the three-part test articulated by the Second
Circuit in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2006). Although this brief
and the attached exhibit are judicial documents subject to the common law presumption of access,
because this brief discusses apsychiatric evaluation of Minor Victim-4 contained in Exhibit B,
consisting throughout o
these
redactions and sealing requests are narrowly tailored to protect her privacy interest.
5
EFTA00024960
Dr. Hall's conclusion on this issue should thus be excluded
to avoid "confusing the issues," as well as causing "undue delay," and "wasting time." Fed. R.
Evid. 403; see United States v. Blum, 62 F.3d 63, 68 (2d Cir. 1995) (assessing whether evidence
would result in "confusing the issues" under Rule 403 by asking whether it would bear upon, or
distract from, "the central issue" of the defendant's "guilt or innocence"); United States v.
Stewart, 433 F.3d 273, 313 (2d Cir. 2006) (upholding preclusion of evidence that would have
necessitated a "mini-trial").
6
EFTA00024961
EFTA00024962
.
EFTA00024963
9
EFTA00024964
I
I
■
10
EFTA00024965
II
EFTA00024966
B. The Bases of Dr. Hall's Opinions Are Not Independently Admissible
According to the defendant's expert notice, she also seeks to elicit the "bases" for the
opinions in Dr. Haleeport.
Because those opinions themselves should not be admitted for
the reasons just discussed, there is no ground to admit their basis.
To start, all the summarized information about Minor Victim-4's past is hearsay or
otherwise inadmissible. Dr. Hall was obviously not a percipient witness to any of the conduct
discussed in his report, and instead derived his understanding of Minor Victim-4's past from out-
of-court statements by Minor Victim-4 and othe
12
EFTA00024967
In any event, no information about the bases of Dr. Hall's opinions can satisfy the
requirements of Rule 703. Pursuant to that Rule, although an expert may rely on hearsay in
forming his opinion, the "expert may not, however, simply transmit that hearsay to the jury."
United States v. Mejia, 545 F.3d 179, 197 (2d Cir. 2008). Instead, "if facts or data would otherwise
be inadmissible, the proponent of the opinion may disclose them to the jury only if their probative
value in helping the jury evaluate the opinion substantially outweighs their prejudicial effect." See
Fed. R. Evid. 703. Here, the probative value of relaying the hearsay would be essentially nil:.
13
EFTA00024968
C. Any Undisclosed Significance of Dr. Hall's Opinions Is Inadmissible
In addition to testifying abou
As discussed above, to the extent his
2009 report discloses the significance of his opinions, for purposes of this case they have none,
because nothing in the report concerns the elements of or defenses to the charged offenses, or
Minor Victim-4's ability to testify accurately. (See supra at 5 to 11). And to the extent Dr. Hall
would testify about any undisclosed significance to his opinions, the failure to disclose that
testimony itself renders it inadmissible.
The party proposing to call an expert must provide "a written summary of any testimony
that the defendant intends to use." Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(b)(1)(C). The Rule requires that the expert
disclose what his testimony will be, not just the topics about which he will testify. See United
States v. Valle, No. 12 Cr. 847 (PGG), 2013 WL 440687, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 2, 2013) ("Merely
14
EFTA00024969
identifying the general topics about which the expert will testify is insufficient; rather, the
summary must reveal the expert's actual opinions."); United States v. Duvall, 272 F.3d 825, 828
(7th Cir. 2001) ("The Rule requires a summary of the expected testimony, not a list of topics.").
"Proper expert disclosures are not a mere technicality with which compliance may be made or
not—they are required by Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure" and the
requirements "do not only apply to one side and not the other." United States v. Ulbricht, No. 14
Cr.
Such a belated disclosure may require a Daubert
hearing to test the reliability of Dr. Hall's heretofore unrevealed analysis on this question. But as
the record now stands, because Dr. Hall's expert opinions are irrelevant without the addition of
some undisclosed significance, his testimony should be excluded. See Ulbricht, 2015 WL 413318,
at *5 (collecting cases concerning the exclusion of expert testimony for insufficient notice).8
D. Dr. Hall's Fact Testimony Is Inadmissible
The defendant's disclosure states that, in addition to providing his expert opinions and their
basis, Dr. Hall would testify about
g
To the extent the defendant is aware of additional conclusions Dr. Hall would offer, those
should be disclosed immediately—both because without such disclosures his opinions have no
apparent relevance, and because even the current disclosures are vague yet disclosed relatively
close to trial. See, e.g., Valle, 2013 WL 440687, at *6 (ordering rapid supplemental disclosure).
15
EFTA00024970
If Dr. Hall had some admissible substantive
testimony, the Government would not object to a foundational account of how he evaluated Minor
Victim-4. The defendant has not, however, identified any admissible substantive testimony from
Dr.
This Court has discretion, after careful consideration of alternatives, to exclude Dr. Hall's
testimony based solely on the inadequacy of the defendant's disclosures and the lateness of any
supplemental disclosures. See Ulbricht, 858 F. 3d at 116-17 (affirming district court's exclusion
of two defense experts on those grounds).
16
EFTA00024971
17
EFTA00024972
It remains theoretically possible that Dr. Hall's interview with Minor Victim-4 will become
relevant for impeaching her with a prior inconsistent statement. At present, however, the
Government does not expect that Minor Victim-4's testimony will be contradicted by statements
she made to Dr. Hall. And to be clear, Minor Victim-4's expected testimony about the defendant's
involvement in Epstein's scheme is not inconsistent with the fact that Minor Victim-4 did not
describe those instances to Dr. Hall. "It is well settled that for two statements to be inconsistent,
they need not be diametrically opposed. Nevertheless, the statements must be inconsistent."
United States v. Tizaska, 111 F.3d 1019, 1024-25 (2d Cir. 1997) (citations and internal quotation
marks omitted). In Tnaska, the Circuit explained that a witness's statement on one occasion that
his son was willing to give away certain guns was not inconsistent with the witness's statement on
another occasion that his son was obsessed with different guns, or guns in general. Id. Similarly,
that Minor Victim-4 described to Dr. Hall certain aspects of Epstein's abuse that did not involve
the defendant is not inconsistent with describing other aspects that did involve the defendant.
In addition, the defendant does not need Dr. Hall's testimony to inform the jury that Minor
Victim-4 has not always disclosed the defendant's role in Epstein's abuse. Minor Victim-4 also
failed to mention the full extent of the defendant's role during her first FBI interview. Because
the Government believes that in this interview—unlike the Hall interview—Minor Victim-4 was
asked questions that would have referenced the defendant in a complete answer, the Government
18
EFTA00024973
expects to elicit the failure to mention her on direct, and does not object to reasonable cross
examination on the subject.
It may nonetheless be that after Minor Victim-4 testifies the defendant will be able to argue
that some statement made to Dr. Hall satisfies the multiple prerequisites for introducing extrinsic
evidence of a prior inconsistent statement. See generally United States v. Ghailani, 761 F. Supp.
2d 114, 117-19 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) (discussing requirements). 10 As the Court has noted, any
argument on that score must await the presentation of evidence. (See Nov. II, 2021 Sealed Tr., at
194). But at present, the defendant has identified no relevant fact testimony that Dr. Hall could
offer. Because his expert testimony is similarly inadmissible, he should be excluded as a witness
absent further developments at trial.
10 To be clear, although Dr. Hall could conceivably testify as to his recollection of some prior
inconsistent statement by Minor Victim-4, the rough transcript of his interview with her cannot
become admissible as extrinsic evidence of Minor Victim-4's statements regardless how she
testifies. That label—"rough transcript"—comes from the document itself. (3505-035, at 1). And
it is i uite obviousl rou h. The document contains numerous errors, includin on material oints.
Because the rough transcript is not a verbatim transcnpt, rt cannot be offered as extrinsic
evidence of prior inconsistent statements. See United States v. illmonte, 956 F.2d 27, 29 (2d Cir.
1992) (per curiam) ("[A] 'third party's characterization' of a witness's statement does not
constitute a prior statement of that witness unless the witness has subscribed to that
characterization."); United States v. Leonardi, 623 F.2d 746, 757 (2d Cir. 1980) (FBI notes offered
to impeach not attributable to witness because "a witness may not be charged with a third party's
characterization of his statements unless the witness has subscribed to them"); see also Ghailani,
761 F. Supp. 2d at 117-18, 120 (excluding testimony about prior witness interviews offered as
prior inconsistent statements due to, among other things, concerns about translation errors).
19
EFTA00024974
III.
GERSHMAN
The defense proposes to call Bennett Gershman, a professor of law at Pace University, for
the following testimony:
We expect Professor Gershman to provide testimony on best
practices to ensure the integrity of any prosecution, focusing on
investigation, witness preparation, media contact, neutrality,
obligations to provide accurate information, and relationship
with crime victims, their counsel, and case-related civil
litigation.
(Ex. A at 12).
This testimony should be precluded as irrelevant. At the conference on November 1, 2021,
the Court precluded "affirmative evidence by the defense that goes to the thoroughness of the
investigation," (11/01/21 Tr. at 17:15-17), including "evidence of the public outcry and scrutiny
that preceded the decision to charge the defendant," (id. at 21:1-9), as well as evidence regarding
"why and when the government conducted the investigation," including any defense evidence that
the Government "has a legally improper motive for prosecuting [the defendant] or somehow [is]
fabricating evidence or suborning perjury or the like," (id. at 23:2-6). The Court reaffirmed the
settled law in this Circuit that "the government is not on trial." (Id. at 23:10-11 (quoting United
States v. Knox, 687 F. App'x 51 (2d Cir. 2017))). To the extent evidence similar to this evidence
is permissible, the Court concluded that it was permitted only as "relevant cross-examination of
the government's witnesses." (Id. at 27:19-29:24).
Gershman's proposed testimony is relevant only to the defense theories that the Court has
precluded. This testimony invites the jury to conclude that either the New York investigation or
Florida investigation—or both—lacked "integrity." (Ex. A at 12). Whether that supposed lack of
20
EFTA00024975
"integrity" goes to an argument about thoroughness, or an argument about motive and the
corruption of evidence, the Court has already ruled that the defense may not offer affirmative
evidence of that point to the jury.
Even if this testimony was not plainly barred by the Court's prior ruling, it should still be
precluded for inadequate notice. The expert notice for this witness provides only general topics of
discussion and not Gershman's opinions, and it does not identify the bases for his testimony—
which are independent reasons to preclude Gershman or to require supplemental notice. It is likely
that such information would demonstrate the unreliability or further irrelevance of Gershman's
testimony. In a recent case, however, Gershman attempted to offer precisely the sort of testimony
that this Court has already excluded. See US. Securities and Exchange Comm'n v. Collector's
Coffee Inc., -- F. Supp. 3d --, 19 Civ. 4355 (VM) (GWG), 2021 WL 3418829, at *2 (S.D.N.Y.
Aug. 5, 2021) (excluding Gershman's testimony in a civil case that, inter alio, "the SEC
improperly obtained an ex parte order from the Court," and "the SEC's lawyers have `engaged in
a pattern of irregular, overzealous, unethical, and unlawful conduct' throughout this litigation").
The Court should not permit expert testimony on those subjects.
IV.
BEFORE THE DEFENDANT'S REMAINING WITNESSES OFFER EXPERT
The defense provided brief notice of four additional experts: Robert Kelso, who would
testify about computer forensics;
who would testify about financial records; and two
forensic document specialists. The defendant's expert notice is not clear regarding these witness's
expected testimony and the bases for that testimony. Insofar as Kelso and
will testify as
fact witnesses, the Government does not object to that testimony. If they are expected to testify as
21
EFTA00024976
experts, however, and before any testimony by the forensic document specialists, the defense must
say more about these witnesses' opinions and the bases for them. The Government is not able to
take a position on the reliability or relevance of those opinions from the face of the expert notice.
Given the proximity to trial, any additional delay to provide sufficient notice should be closely
scrutinized by the Court, and entirely precluded if notice is not provided forthwith.
A. Robert Kelso and
The defendant anticipates calling Robert Kelso, a computer forensics specialist, to testify
about:
the user data associated with certain devices seized and
searched by the government's team in this case, documents
and photographs extracted from certain of those devices, and
the metadata associated with certain documents and
photographs. He may also testify generally about computer
forensic principles associated with the creation of documents,
storage and retrieval of digital documents and photographs,
including the limits to the information that can be gleaned
from the metadata. Mr. Kelso may testify in rebuttal to an
testimony offered by the government through
As trial preparation proceeds, the defense will update the
topics for Mr. Kelso if any arise.
(Ex. A at 12-13).
Similarly, the defendant anticipates ==
a financial investigator, to testify about:
his review of certain financial records aided
by the
government in discovery. Specifically, Mr. IMIN will discuss
various transfers of funds that are reflected in the financial
records and explain the information contained in the financial
records regarding those transfers.
(Id. at 13).
To the extent Kelso and
are expected to summarize evidence otherwise in the record,
that testimony is not expert testimony, and therefore its admission is not precluded by Rule 702.
22
EFTA00024977
See United States v. Lebedev, 932 F.3d 40, 50 (2d Cir. 2019) (concluding that "an account and
litigation consultant" who "summar[ized] . . . the relevant financial records" was not an expert
witness). The Government has similarly provided expert notice in an abundance of caution for
an FBI computer forensic examiner who will testify as a fact witness about his
extraction of devices seized pursuant to court authorized search warrants and evidence recovered
from those devices.'
To the extent Kelso and
would testify based on their "scientific, technical, or other
specialized knowledge," however, that testimony is expert testimony. Id. (quoting Fed. R. Evid.
702(a)). And any such testimony is not reflected in the expert notice. These expert notices provide
lists of "general and in some cases extremely broad topics," which is "plainly inadequate" under
Rule 16. Ulbricht, 858 F.3d at 115. For instance, the notice for Kelso states that he will testify
"generally about computer forensic principles associated with the creation of documents," and
testify "about user data associated with certain devices seized and searched by the government's
team in this case." (Ex. A at 12). It also states that the defense may "update the topics for Mr.
Kelso" before trial. (Id. at 13 (emphasis added)). Similarly,
will "discuss various transfers
of funds that are reflected in the financial records and explain the information contained in the
financial records." (Id.). These lists of topics do not permit the Government to identify Kelso and
opinions, determine whether the proffered experts are in fact expert on those subjects, and
litigate the reliability and relevance of those opinions.
The Government also pointed to four other cases in this District and the Eastern District in which
testified, including United States v. Kelly, 19 Cr. 286 (AMD) (E.D.N.Y.).
23
EFTA00024978
Accordingly, the Court should preclude expert testimony from Kelso and
unless and
until the defense to provides supplemental expert notice forthwith. 12 If the defense does so, the
Government should have an opportunity at that time to litigate its admissibility. And if the defense
does not do so, those witnesses should be limited to purely factual testimony. See Lebedev, 932
F.3d at 50 (affirming a limiting instruction clarifying that the witness was not providing an expert
opinion).
B. Forensic Document Specialists
Finally, the defendant has identified two forensic document specialists who she may call
as expert witnesses. Gerald LaPorte is a "Forensic Chemist and Document Dating Specialist," and
Jennifer Naso is a "Forensic Document Examiner." (Ex. A at 13-14). Regarding their expert
opinions, the defendant writes:
Defendant anticipates the receipt of documents produced by
the government and documents received pursuant to defense
subpoena included but not limited to journal pages by witness
[Minor Victim-2]. These documents may require analysis
regarding the dates of creation, completeness, alteration and
manipulation. When these documents are disclosed,
Defendant will seek to have them analyzed and present
testimony on the analysis as needed.
(Id. at 13-14).
This notice also does not provide the experts' "opinions" or "the bases and reasons for
those opinions." Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(b)(1)(C). It does not even identify the set of documents
12 Similarly, absent additional expert notice, Kelso and
should be required to limit their
testimony to facts in the record. Experts—but not other witnesses—may rely on facts or data that
are not admissible, and may disclose them to the jury in certain circumstances. See Fed. R. Evid.
703, 705.
24
EFTA00024979
purportedly awaited or topics of testimony, besides documents that "may require analysis," leading
to whatever testimony is "needed." (Ex. A at 13-14). This is plainly inadequate under the rules,
and the Government cannot litigate the qualifications, reliability, or relevance of unknown
testimony about unidentified documents at this time.
Of course, the Court has the option of permitting the defense to clarify this notice mid-trial
whenever the defense receives and reviews the documents they have in mind. Doing so, however,
would almost certainly lead to mid-trial Dauber! briefing, possibly a mid-trial Daubert hearing,
and late-breaking rebuttal expert notice by the Government.
The better course is to require the defense to identify, immediately, the documents they
expect to be the subject of forensic analysis and the precise forensic methodology that these experts
will use to analyze those documents. That may—depending on the details—permit some Daubert
litigation to occur now, because the Government may be able to agree with, or challenge, the notion
that these experts are qualified to use the methodology, that the methodology is reliable, or that
the document is relevant. See, e.g., Jennifer L. Mnookin, "Scripting Expertise: The History of
Handwriting Identification Evidence and the Judicial Construction of Reliability," 87 Va. L. Rev.
1723, 1726-27 (2001) (describing "major pretrial battles being waged over the admissibility of . . .
expert evidence in handwriting identification"). 13
Here too, the Court should order the defendant to provide additional expert notice of the
methodology these experts intend to use, and the precise documents they expect to examine. Such
13 It would of course defeat the purpose of an order along these lines if the defendant gives expert
notice of numerous document examination methodologies, requiring extensive Daubert litigation
that may stretch into trial and would far exceed the scope any actual testimony that may be
presented at trial.
25
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an order will likely permit the Government to interpose a Daubert challenge now. Absent rapid
supplemental notice along these lines, the Court should preclude the forensic document specialists.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Government respectfully requests that the Court
preclude the testimony of Dr. Ryan Hall and Bennett Gershman; preclude any expert testimony
(as opposed to fact testimony) by Robert Kelso or
and preclude any testimony at all
from the forensic document specialists, unless and until the defendant provides supplemental
expert notice, which the Court should order the defense to provide forthwith.
Dated: November 15, 2021
New York, New York
Respectfully submitted,
DAMIAN WILLIAMS
United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York
By:
/s/
Assistant United States Attorneys
26
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