Professors Imwinkelried, Méndez Cited by U.S. Supreme Court
Professor Edward Imwinkelried's treatise on evidence was cited by both the majority opinion and the dissent, and Professor Miguel A. Méndez was cited by the dissent in a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court.
In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, in which the Court was asked to decide whether a person accused of possessing a controlled substance has the right to confront and cross-examine the state laboratory analyst who confirmed the nature and weight of the substance, both the majority opinion and the dissent referenced Scientific Evidence (4th ed. 2007), a treatise by Professor Imwinkelried with Paul C. Giannelli, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In addition, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's dissenting opinion made reference to "Crawford v. Washington: A Critique," an article published by Professor Méndez in Stanford Law Review in 2004 (57 Stan. L. Rev. 569). In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the petitioner had a constitutional right to confront and cross-examine the analyst who had prepared a drug analysis report that was introduced against the accused at trial.
Professor Imwinkelried is a world-renowned evidence expert and has published extensively in the field.
Professor Méndez, an internationally recognized expert in evidence law and criminal law, came to UC Davis School of Law in July from Stanford Law School, where he was the Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law.