Day 5 - April 28, 2025

Judge Cannone reconvenes court outside the jury's presence to address the Commonwealth's motion to compel reciprocal discovery from the defense regarding ARCCA witnesses. She recounts that she previously found a deliberate violation of the defendant's reciprocal discovery obligations, and that a further violation became apparent on the day of opening statements, leading her to bar the defense from mentioning ARCCA during their opening. The court proceeds to hold an evidentiary hearing on the Commonwealth's motion, with defense attorney Brennan indicating Dr. Wolfe will testify first.

ADA Brennan conducted an adversarial voir dire of Daniel Wolfe concerning communications with the defense team, deleted text messages, Signal calls, and a pre-testimony direct-examination outline Wolfe emailed to Attorney Jackson. Brennan questioned Wolfe about the scope of his communications and his response to a court production order. Wolfe testified that he had no record of the Signal calls, provided what was in his possession, and could not identify their dates or number. The central exhibit was an email labeled 'Wolfe Direct,' sent before Wolfe's Trial 1 testimony and containing a proposed direct examination with comments. Brennan treated the email as evidence of substantive preparation with the defense; Wolfe testified that he prepared it himself, Jackson did not request it, and they never discussed it.

On redirect voir dire, Jackson walked Wolfe through the chronology of ARCCA's involvement — from the original DOJ contract through Trial 1 and into Trial 2 preparation. Wolfe testified that ARCCA's project number remained the same through Trial 1 and that he assumed time entered under it would be billed to the federal contract; that no engagement letter or retainer was sent to the defense in 2024; and that ARCCA could not enter a separate agreement with the defense while under federal contract. Wolfe said his pre-testimony outlines sent to Jackson reflected his customary trial-preparation practice, and that he had not discussed the substance of his February 2024 report with a defense team member before testifying. Jackson also elicited testimony about harassment Wolfe and his family received between trials. Regarding Trial 2, Wolfe said ARCCA was officially retained after DOJ clearance in late March 2025; he described contracting from the short report and slides as very difficult and creating a scope of work from them as most likely not possible, and said that without the Aperture materials he did not know what work ARCCA would be responding to.

ADA Brennan continued his adversarial voir dire of Daniel Wolfe, questioning ARCCA's Trial 2 timing, DOJ communications during Trial 1, and material underlying Wolfe's Trial 1 opinions. Wolfe rejected Brennan's premise that ARCCA's involvement first arose in late March, testifying that he spoke with Alan Jackson around February 2025; Wolfe said he did not know why the defense waited. Wolfe also testified that DOJ personnel verbally pointed out key things from prior testimony before he testified in Trial 1, including matters concerning the pedestrian's arm and kinematics and possible DNA evidence. He said he was never made aware of a sequestration order and that the information did not change his opinion because the report was already solidified. On Trial 1 materials, Wolfe testified that his understanding was that DOJ communications and work product were protected and could not be disclosed, and that raw data and testing videos were not produced.

ADA Hank Brennan conducted a brief voir dire of Dr. Andrew Rentschler, a biomechanical engineer from ARCCA. Brennan questioned Rentschler about pre-testimony communications with the defense. Rentschler said defense records reflected more calls than his own records, explaining that one-to-three-minute entries aligned with a single approximately 21-minute call on his records. Brennan then asked about DOJ calls before Rentschler's Trial 1 testimony and whether Rentschler knew of what Brennan described as a sequestration order barring discussion of courtroom testimony; Rentschler said DOJ had informed him about trial developments and that he was unaware of the order. Rentschler described accepting lunch while awaiting replacement transportation to the airport after testifying, standing in a corner, and briefly speaking with people who approached him. Brennan also elicited that Rentschler's rebuttal report responding to Dr. Welcher's materials would not be completed until May 7th or later. Judge Cannone asked whether the report could be completed sooner if ordered.