Tomorrow we have our mock Motion in Limine hearing in which we argue our case as to whether our expert gets to testify as to blood spatter which was covering the inside of a trailer home in our mock case. Here are the facts of the case:

On February 14, 2006 at 2:56am Fire Chief Sean Patrick, who was at the local fire station, was awakened to cries for help from John Doe, who had just pulled up in his vehicle and was traveling with the body of his girlfriend, Jane Doe. Jane Doe had considerable wounds to her face and John Doe had blood covering his body and was bleeding from his left hand. A medical examiner later pronounced Jane Doe dead at the scene. The cause of death was determined to be from a gunshot wound to the face.

John Doe’s statement to the authorities is as follows. John Doe lives on the Jamul Indian Reservation, which sits on the U.S. -Mexican border. For a number of reasons, hostilities between Mexicans and Indians are not uncommon in this area. On the evening of February 13, 2006, John Doe and his girlfriend were talking on the couch in his living room. As they were talking two Mexicans broke into their home through a sliding glass door. The two Mexicans entered the house and stood in the entrance to the living room; one of the men held a shotgun in his hands. Before either John or Jane Doe could do anything the Mexican with the gun fired. In a futile attempt to save a life, John raised his left hand as if to shield him and his girlfriend from the blast.

John Doe was only able to partially block the spray of buckshot with his left hand. As a result, the spray severed his thumb from his left hand. The fingernail from his left thumb was found embedded in the left cheek on the side of Jane Doe’s face. Jane Doe was struck directly in the face from the blast. After the shot the Mexicans fled from the house. John Doe then picked up his girlfriend’s body and carried her to his vehicle. He then proceeded to drive to the local fire station where John Doe woke Fire Chief Patrick.
The State’s argument of the events of the evening is as follows. There were never any Mexicans in the house that night. John and Jane Doe had been having relationship difficulties and were alone. The couple was arguing and Jane Doe wanted to end the relationship. John Doe reacted by grabbing a shotgun, holding Jane Doe’s head in place with his left hand, and firing into her face. In the process, John Doe severed his thumb from the hand he was using to restrain Jane Doe. After killing her, John Doe grabbed her body, placed it in his vehicle, drove to the local fire station and pretended he and his girlfriend were victims of a crime.

Carolyn Gannet, Criminalist III, of the San Diego Sheriff’s Office reported to John Doe’s house shortly after 4:15am on February 14, 2006. Ms. Gannet surveyed the crime scene and made these initial observations. Blood spatter was found on the walls of the living room and the floor leading into the living room. From analysis of the blood on the walls Ms. Gannet determined the spatter was indicative of spatter you would see from a shotgun blast. The spatter was most heavily concentrated on the wall opposite from a couch in the living room. A large void within this concentrated area of spatter was also observed. Further analysis determined the void was likely the result of a large object, such as a body, in between the wall and the couch and blocking the spray of blood. Ms. Gannet detailed her observations and analysis in a crime scene analysis report, which was filed with the Sheriff’s Office.

A Sheriff’s Office crime scene photographer took pictures of the scene, including the blood spatter. Powder burns were found on both John and Jane Doe’s hands. Two bloodstains on the walls were analyzed, tested, and confirmed that they were DNA matches with Jane Doe. A weapon not belonging to either party was found under a vehicle outside the trailer. John Doe’s clothes were never collected or analyzed. John Doe is charged with murder in the first-degree for the death of Jane Doe.

Sounds like fun huh? So, we'll be arguing this mock motion in limine hearing from 6 - 8pm tomorrow evening. Hopefully if all goes well we'll escape with a decent grade and most of our pride still intact. Wish me luck.