A defense attorney for one of the former officers with the Memphis Police Department charged with violating Tyre Nichols’ civil rights is asking a federal judge to not allow the U.S. Attorney’s Office to call on experts to give opinions on any aspect of the case, including on the officers’ use of force against Nichols.
Michael Stengel, an attorney representing Demetrius Haley in both the federal and state criminal cases, filed that request in a flurry of motions Monday afternoon in federal court. Monday was the deadline for filing any motions, though that deadline may get extended if another one of the motions were to be granted.
Here’s what was filed on Monday.
Motion to exclude any opinions
The motion to exclude the prosecution from introducing opinion testimonies is based on a separate filing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office that said, in part, that “the United States does not at this time intend to introduce any expert testimony as defined by the federal rules,” but added that the prosecution with notify the defense if that changes.
Stengel, in his motion, argues that expert testimony being introduced late in the case could impact the timeline of the case going to trial.
Because of that, Stengel wrote, the government should be prohibited from introducing opinions “including, but not limited to, an opinion on the alleged unreasonableness of force used against Tyre Nichols, whether any alleged force used against Tyre Nichols resulted in bodily injury, whether any alleged force used against Tyre Nichols resulted in his death, the cause of Tyre Nichols’ death, toxicology test results and DNA test results.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to the motion, objects to Stengel’s motion.
All jurors may be asked to fill out a questionnaire
Stengel also requested that all jurors fill out a questionnaire during the selection process. He argued that it would streamline the process and that both the prosecution and the defense teams have used them in trials previously and “found such use beneficial.”
“A questionnaire is appropriate due to both the nature of the police misconduct allegations, about which prospective jurors must be questioned, and the extensive publicity surrounding every step of the proceedings,” Stengel wrote. “Color-of-law cases implicate individuals’ deeply held beliefs about law enforcement, the criminal justice system and civil rights.”
Related news:Ex-Memphis police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols to go to state trial in August
Both the defense and prosecuting attorneys will have to agree upon a proposed questionnaire. The U.S. Attorney’s Office joined the motion to have a juror questionnaire, the motion said.
What other motions were filed?
- Stengel also filed a motion suggesting March 1, 2024, as a deadline for the U.S. Attorney’s Office to disclose all of the transcripts that it plans to introduce as evidence, or as an aid to the jury. That motion was not opposed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office
- Stengel, along with attorney William Massey, representing Emmitt Martin III, filed motions requesting an extension of time to file pretrial motions. Both attorneys cited a Nov. 2 discovery disclosure that totaled 316 hours of audio and video, and over 35,000 pages of PDF documents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not oppose either motion.
Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.
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