A divided state appeals court reversed the second-degree murder conviction of a defendant who was not allowed to present expert testimony about the potential unreliability of the eyewitness who testified against him.
In a case that hinged almost exclusively on the accuracy of the witness’ identification, a 3-2 panel of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, ruled that defendant Jamell McCullough had met the two-step process of determining the admissibility of expert proof as laid out by the Court of Appeals in People v. LeGrand, 8 NY3d 449 (2007), and People v. Muhammad, 17 NY3d 532 (2011).
