Rivera's Opening Brief
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No. 09-1060 ________________________________________________________________________ In the Appellate Court of Illinois Second District PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Appeal from the ) Nineteenth Judicial ) Circuit Court ) v. ) Case. No. 92 CF 2751 ) JUAN A. RIVERA, JR., ) Hon. Christopher C. Starck ) Judge Presiding. Defendant-Appellant. ) ________________________________________________________________________ BRIEF OF DEFENDANT-APPELLANT JUAN A. RIVERA, JR. ________________________________________________________________________ Lawrence Marshall Counsel of Record Stanford Law School 559 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, California 94306 Thomas P. Sullivan Jane E. Raley Terri L. Mascherin Jeffrey Urdangen Jenner & Block LLP Bluhm Legal Clinic 353 N. Clark Street Northwestern University Chicago, Illinois 60654 School of Law 357 E. Chicago Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60611 Counsel for Defendant-Appellant Juan A. Rivera, Jr. ________________________________________________________________________ ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED i _____________________________________________________________________ POINTS AND AUTHORITIES NATURE OF THE CASE ...................................................................................................1 JURISDICTION ..................................................................................................................1 ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW ...............................................................................1 STATEMENT OF FACTS ..................................................................................................2 I. CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE..............................................................................................................2 II. THE FOCUS ON JUAN RIVERA ..........................................................................4 A. October 27 & 28 Questioning ........................................................................... 4 B. October 29 & 30 Questioning ........................................................................... 6 1. The Trip to Chicago .................................................................................... 6 2. The Questioning from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. .......................................... 8 3. The Questioning from 11:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.. .......................................... 8 4. Rivera’s Condition from 3:00 a.m. to 8:10 a.m. ....................................... 11 5. Continued Questioning from 8:10 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ................................ 12 6. The Meeting in the State’s Attorney’s Office ........................................... 13 7. Rivera’s Condition in the Jail from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m...................... 13 8. The Final Round of Interrogations from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.............. 14 III. THE EARLIER TRIALS, APPEALS AND NEW TRIAL BASED ON NEW DNA RESULTS ..........................................................................................17 IV. THE RECENT TRIAL ..........................................................................................18 A. The Prosecution’s Case ................................................................................... 18 1. The Crime Scene & Rivera’s Statements.................................................. 18 2. Other Witnesses ........................................................................................ 18 3. Jailhouse Informants ................................................................................. 20 B. The Defense Case ........................................................................................... 22 1. Evidence Affirmatively Excluding Rivera................................................ 22 a. DNA and Other Physical Evidence..................................................... 22 b. Electronic Monitoring Records & Other Evidence Rivera Was At Home .............................................................................................. 25 2. Defense Evidence Relating to the Confessions ........................................ 26 a. Rivera’s Condition During the Interrogations and Confessions ......... 26 ii b. Rivera’s Mental Health and Capacity and Its Impact on the Confessions ......................................................................................... 26 c. Inconsistencies Between Confession and Facts of the Crime ............. 27 d. The Absence of Any Information in Rivera’s Statements Not Known to the Police ............................................................................ 28 V. DELIBERATIONS, VERDICT, AND SENTENCING ........................................29 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT ................................................................................30 ARGUMENT .....................................................................................................................32 I. THE EVIDENCE IS INSUFFICIENT TO PROVE GUILT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. .....................................................................................32 A. The DNA Evidence ......................................................................................... 33 B. The Role of the Confessions in the Analysis .................................................. 38 C. The In-Custody Informants ............................................................................. 45 II. RIVERA’S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PRESENT A MEANINGFUL DEFENSE WAS VIOLATED WHEN HE WAS BARRED FROM PRESENTING EXPERT TESTIMONY CRITICAL TO THE JURY’S ASSESSMENT OF THE RELIABILITY OF HIS CONFESSION. ......................................................................................................46 A. The Barred Evidence....................................................................................... 47 1. Dr. Galatzer-Levy’s Testimony Concerning Rivera’s Psychiatric State During the Interrogation ........................................................................... 47 2. Dr. Kassin’s Testimony Regarding the Impact of Specific Interrogation Techniques on Individuals with Particular Mental Disorders................... 48 B. The Trial Court Erred in Precluding Drs. Galatzer-Levy and Kassin from Testifying on These Matters. .......................................................................... 49 1. The Law of the Case ................................................................................. 49 2. Rivera Was Entitled to Present Testimony from Dr. Galatzer-Levy Explaining How His Psychiatric and Psychological Disorders Were Apt to Have Affected Statements He Made in the Course of the Interrogations. 52 a. Knowledge and Qualifications Uncommon to Lay Persons ............... 52 b. The Barred Testimony Would Have Aided the Trier of Fact. ............ 52 c. Dr. Galatzer-Levy’s Testimony Reflects Accepted Scientific Principles............................................................................................. 55 3. Rivera Was Entitled to Present Testimony from Dr. Kassin Concerning Specific Psychological Attributes and Interrogation Techniques that Can Increase the Risk of False Confessions. .................................................... 56 a. Knowledge and Qualifications Uncommon to Lay Persons ............... 56 iii b. The Barred Testimony Would Have Aided the Trier of Fact. ............ 57 c. Dr. Kassin’s Testimony Reflected Generally Accepted Scientific Principles. ........................................................................... 61 4. The Exclusion of Expert Testimony Violated Rivera’s Constitutional Right to Present a Meaningful Defense. ................................................... 65 III. RIVERA IS ENTITLED TO A NEW TRIAL BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPER ADMISSION OF EVIDENCE PURPORTING TO EXPLAIN THE DNA EVIDENCE BY CLAIMING THAT HOLLY STAKER WAS THE KIND OF GIRL WHO WOULD HAVE WILLINGLY HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE ATTACKER WITHIN 72 HOURS OF HER MURDER. .............................................................................................................65 A. The Evidence .................................................................................................. 67 B. The Admission of the Evidence About Prior Sexual Activity Violated the Rape Shield Statute. ........................................................................................ 68 C. In Addition to Violating the Rape Shield Statute, the Prior-Sexual-Activity Evidence was Irrelevant. ................................................................................. 72 D. Even When Admissible, Character Must be Proved Through Reputation Evidence, Not Particular Acts. ........................................................................ 73 IV. JUAN RIVERA’S CONVICTION MUST BE REVERSED BECAUSE THE TRIAL COURT DID NOT ALLOW THE DEFENSE TO DISABUSE THE JURY OF THE INACCURATE IMPRESSION THAT POLYGRAPH RESULTS IMPLICATED RIVERA IN THE CRIME. ...............75 A. The Polygraph Examination ........................................................................... 76 B. The Polygraph Evidence Introduced at Trial .................................................. 78 C. The Trial Court’s Ruling ................................................................................. 79 D. Rivera Was Entitled to Inform the Jury That No Polygraph Results Indicated He Had Lied in Denying Involvement in the Crime. ...................................... 80 V. THE TRIAL COURT VIOLATED THIS COURT’S MANDATE WHEN IT ALLOWED THE STATE TO INTRODUCE GENERALIZED CRITICISMS