Abruquah v. State
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The Supreme Court reversed Petitioner's conviction for first-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime, holding that the circuit court erred in permitting a firearms examiner to testify, without qualification, that bullets left at a murder scene were fired from a gun that Petitioner had acknowledged was his, and the error was not harmless.
In arguing that the circuit court abused its discretion in permitting the firearms examiner's testimony Petitioner cited reports, studies, and testimony calling into question the reliability of firearms identification analysis. The Supreme Court agreed with Petitioner and reversed and remanded the case for a new trial, holding (1) the reports, studies, and testimony presented to the circuit court demonstrated that the firearms identification methodology employed in this case could not reliably support an unqualified conclusion that the bullets were fired from a particular firearm; and (2) this Court was not convicted, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the error in no way influenced the verdict.
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