Procedural - Motions

JUDGE CANNONE: Yes, please.

JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. Did you want to see me at sidebar?

JUDGE CANNONE: Why don't I see you up here.

JUDGE CANNONE: All right. So moving on to the Daubert motion the other day — or voir dire hearing — in response to the Commonwealth's renewed motion for reciprocal discovery and motion to exclude defendant's expert Dr. Marie Russell. So the Commonwealth was alleging violations of Rule 14's reciprocal discovery requirement, and the Commonwealth asked for exclusion of Dr. Russell. I did find, and do find, that there was a violation of the reciprocal discovery obligations of the defendant's. I was looking for a remedy — you called it a sanction, Mr.

JUDGE CANNONE: Jackson, but I called it a remedy — and I did tell counsel, as you know, at sidebar a couple of times at least last week, that I did not want to exclude the testimony if I did not have to. So we had the voir dire, and I'm satisfied that the voir dire provided the Commonwealth the information that the defense should have provided the Commonwealth. So I am going to allow Dr. Russell to testify, but her testimony is very limited. And I think you even sort of acknowledged it the other day, Mr. Jackson. So she'll be allowed only to opine whether or not the marks on John O'Keefe's arm were the result of an animal attack.

JUDGE CANNONE: I find that she is a medical doctor, she's an experienced ER doctor, albeit, you know, several years ago since she's worked in that capacity, but that she does have specialized knowledge in that field that may assist the jury in this regard. But she can't testify as an expert on police activity — there'll be none of that — and she will not be able to testify as to what the injuries are inconsistent with. She cannot testify that they're inconsistent with having been struck by a vehicle, road rash, scratches from broken glass or tail light matter, or anything else. So that's beyond the scope of which she can testify.

JUDGE CANNONE: The second part of the Commonwealth's motion — the Commonwealth argued that they were not provided reciprocal discovery regarding the biomechanical engineers and others, but specifically ARCCA, Dr. Wolfe and Dr. Rentschler. And I do find — though I understand why the defense didn't respond — but it is a violation of Rule 14. So we had this voir dire. The Commonwealth was looking to see what each person did, their independent opinion, what their testimony would be, and whether they were qualified to render the opinions that they're qualified to render. So from what I heard the other day, Dr. Wolfe can testify to his involvement. Dr. Rentschler, though, I have some concerns.

JUDGE CANNONE: It's clear to me that Massachusetts biomechanical engineers are not qualified to testify as to medical causation of an injury — only an MD can do that. So I'm going to reserve ruling on the rest of his testimony. There are certain things he can testify to, and I'll hear you again before he testifies next week. Let's just proceed with the trial today. So those are my rulings. Are they clear, Mr. Jackson?

JUDGE CANNONE: Are they clear, Mr. Lally?

JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. All right. So are they ready to commence? Thank you. We'll just go right into the jury's entering.

JUDGE CANNONE: Everyone said yes, or nodded affirmatively. Did anyone happen to see, hear, or read anything about this case since we left here on Tuesday?

JUDGE CANNONE: Everyone said no. All right, thank you very much. Call the witness, please. Trooper Guarino, please.

JUDGE CANNONE: Yes, everyone said yes, nodded affirmatively. Were you also able to follow my instructions and refrain from doing any independent research or investigation into this case?

JUDGE CANNONE: All right. Good morning again, counsel, and Ms. Read. Good morning, jurors. We appreciate that you were patient — we got a lot of work done this morning before you came out. It's cool in here now — as long as you're away from the sun from the windows, it should be fine. The county has done a really terrific job of making sure that they got this building nice and cool for us today. So I appreciate what the county's done as well. I do have to ask you those three questions. Were you all able to follow my instructions and refrain from discussing this case with anyone since we left on Tuesday?