Steven Babitsky, Esq.
The U.S. District Court (Alaska) dealt with a professor, Bloom, who proposed testifying “about incentives for snitches and cooperating witnesses . . . to aid the jury by giving a thorough background that they may determine the credibility of cooperating witnesses.”
The court relied on Black Letter Law and held he would not be permitted to testifying.
The court stated:
“An expert witness is not permitted to testify about a witness’s credibility or to testify in such a manner as to improperly buttress [or attack] a witness’s credibility.” Based on the government’s representations regarding Mr. Bloom’s proposed testimony, the defense appears to be offering him to help the jury assess the credibility of cooperating witnesses. The Court finds the government’s motion objecting to such expert testimony to be well taken. In light of the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED that the motion at Docket 764 is GRANTED.”
For more information, view the entire case here: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12577165825550281923&q=3:16-cr-00086-slg-1&hl=en&as_sdt=40000006&as_ylo=2020