Recent ruling is a noteworthy development for public safety agencies planning to take their Leica ScanStation scan data into a federal court.
Norcross, GA, October 14, 2013 – Leica Geosystems Inc. today announced that a U.S. federal court has issued a ruling affirming the scientific validity of Leica ScanStation evidence.
United States Magistrate Judge Gregory B. Wormuth, presiding over the U.S District Court For The District Of New Mexico, issued an order on Sept. 30, 2013, granting a Daubert motion to affirmatively admit Leica Geosystems ScanStation evidence and related expert testimony in the case of Stephan Cordova v. City of Albuquerque, et al.
The civil lawsuit against the City of Albuquerque stems from an incident on July 30, 2008, when Albuquerque police officers shot and wounded Stephan Cordova. In the judge’s ruling, he noted that plaintiff’s attorneys did not object to the scientific and technical validity of Leica ScanStation evidence or dispute that city defendants had laid a proper scientific and technical foundation for the admissibility of this evidence.
Any public safety agency planning to deploy their 3D laser scanner to crime or fire scenes with the intention of eventually taking that scan data into a federal court might at some point be subjected to a Daubert motion. A Daubert motion is a special case of motion in limine raised before or during trial to exclude the presentation of unqualified evidence to the jury. Daubert provides a rule of evidence regarding the admissibility of expert witnesses’ testimony during United States federal legal proceedings.
“This ruling is a noteworthy development for anyone planning on submitting courtroom exhibits from Leica ScanStation data,” said Michael Cunningham, Training and Service Operations Manager for the Leica Geosystems Inc. Public Safety Group.
The ruling can be downloaded from the Leica Geosystems Ready Room (http://psg.leica-geosystems.us/ready-room), a premier resource for commentary, insights, news and educational materials on topics of interest to public safety professionals.
For more information about Leica Geosystems 3D laser scanning solutions for public safety applications, visit http://psg.leica-geosystems.us.
Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information. Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of Hexagon (Nordic exchange: HEXA B), a leading global provider of design, measurement and visualisation technologies that enable customers to design, measure and position objects, and process and present data.