Opinion ID: 887195
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Allowing Denbeaux to Testify

Text: ¶ 41 Mark Denbeaux is a law professor at Seton Hall Law School in Newark, New Jersey, who specializes in evidence law. He co-authored an article criticizing handwriting evidence. Denbeaux claims that, after many years of study, he has identified the defects and limitations of forensic handwriting witnesses' opinions and the reasons that handwriting analysis is unreliable. Cheryl argues that the District Court erred by refusing to recognize Denbeaux as a qualified expert and prohibiting him from testifying. She asserts that Denbeaux's testimony would have cast doubt on Blanco's testimony, the reliability of handwriting expert testimony in general, and the weight of that evidence. The Federal Circuit Courts have disagreed on whether to allow Denbeaux's testimony. Compare United States v. Velasquez (3d Cir.1995), 64 F.3d 844, 852 (refusing to admit Denbeaux's testimony was an abuse of discretion), with Paul, 175 F.3d at 912 (refusing to admit Denbeaux's testimony was not an abuse of discretion). ¶ 42 First, arguably, Denbeaux is not an expert in the field of handwriting analysis; rather, he is an evidence professor who has, historically, criticized handwriting analysis evidence. It was within the District Court's discretion to conclude that Denbeaux did not qualify as an expert in handwriting analysis. State v. Southern, 1999 MT 94, ¶ 48, 294 Mont. 225, ¶ 48, 980 P.3d 3, ¶ 48. Moreover, Cheryl presented the testimony of her own handwriting expert, and performed a thorough cross-examination of Blanco. Thus, even if Denbeaux's testimony might have cast doubt on Blanco's testimony, Cheryl was able to accomplish that task through the testimony of her expert and cross-examination. Under these circumstances, the District Court did not abuse its discretion in precluding Denbeaux's testimony.