Author: Yujiemi Chisholm

Legal Document Repository

Defendant’s Trial Brief (State of Washington v. William Talbott)

Defense’s trial brief in a Washington double homicide case that occurred in 1987. The defense raises confrontation clause issues regarding testimonial evidence from absent witnesses (including individuals involved in the forensic testing of evidentiary items in the case) and chain of custody and admissibility issues regarding evidence collected during the autopsy of one of the victims.
Office of Justice Programs

Investigating Violent Crime: The Prosecutor’s Role – Lessons Learned From the Field

Based on the discussions of seasoned prosecutors of violent crime who met in 2017 to examine how to improve the investigation of violent crimes, this paper reviews the various phases of an investigation and provides an overview of issues discussed, along with representative descriptions of the approaches used and challenges faced by the jurisdictions represented [Description provided by the OJP website].
Legal Document Repository

State’s Trial Memorandum and Motions in Limine (State of Washington v. William Talbott)

Prosecution’s trial memorandum detailing the anticipated evidence and course of the investigation in a Washington double homicide case that occurred in 1987. This included the steps taken during the Forensic Genetic Genealogy investigation leading to the defendant. The motion in limine focused on the admissibility of the defense’s efforts to introduce “other suspect” evidence.
Legal Document Repository

Defense’s Motion to Sever Offenses (State of Washington v. William Talbott)

Defense’s motion to sever offenses in a Washington double homicide case that occurred in 1987. The defense argues that the two homicides in question should be charged separately based upon differences in proof for each murder including the date, time, and location of each incident.
Legal Document Repository

Affidavit of Probable Cause (State of Washington v. Terrence Miller)

Prosecution’s charging affidavit detailing a Washington murder-sexual offense case that occurred in 1972. This affidavit includes details of the investigation such as the Forensic Genetic Genealogy process used in this case, the suspect’s criminal history, and charges brought against the suspect 47-years after the incident occurred.
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Highlights

Exoneration of Ted Bradford

Ted Louis Bradford spent almost 10 years in prison for a sexual assault he didn’t commit—and another four years awaiting a new trial—before he was retried and acquitted based on DNA evidence of his innocence in 2010.
National Association of Medical Examiners

National Association of Medical Examiners Inspection and Accreditation Checklist

National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) accreditation standards are embodied in the Inspection and Accreditation Checklist. This checklist provides a realistic assessment of the quality of a system’s/office’s operations. The questions within this checklist are used during an inspection to evaluate whether or not the system/office meets the NAME Standards for Accreditation.
Legal Document Repository

Affidavit of Probable Cause (State of Washington v. William Talbott)

Prosecution’s charging affidavit detailing the case against the defendant in a Washington double homicide case that occurred in 1987.   Included in the affidavit was a description of the surreptitious collection of the defendant’s DNA once he was identified as a likely suspect from the results of the family tree build-out and the ensuing match and confirmation to the DNA recovered from the female victim decades earlier.
Office of Justice Programs

Strengthening the Medicolegal-Death-Investigation System: Accreditation and Certification A Path Forward

After reviewing the features and importance of the work of medical examiners and coroners (ME/C) offices in contributing data on the prevalence, causes, and manner of suspicious and violent deaths, this report promotes the accreditation and certification of ME/C offices and personnel, with attention to how federal departments and agencies can facilitate this effort [Description provided by the OJP website].