Prospects For Developing Expert Evidence in Juvenile “Montgomery” Resentencing Cases

This article from Dr. Antoinette Kavanaugh and Dr. Thomas Grisso examines the roles experts can play in “Montgomery” resentencing cases. From the article: “In summary, experts can play an important role in the approximately five hundred Miller/ Montgomery cases pending in Pennsylvania’s courts. Experts retained by the defense can serve as educators or evaluators. In the latter role, the expert will review records related to the defendant, the defendant’s home life before the offense, and to the offense itself, as well as prison records. Additionally, the expert may want to administer psychological tests to the defendant. The expert will want to spend a significant period of time interviewing the defendant and others who knew the defendant before, and since, the conviction. At times, because of what the evaluating expert has learned, the defense counsel will not want the expert to write a report. At that point, the evaluating expert becomes a consultant for the defense. A consultant’s work does not have to be shared with the prosecution or the court. On the other hand, in many cases, the defense will request that the evaluating expert write a report. Defense counsel may want to share the report with the prosecutor to negotiate a plea or tender the report to the court as evidence at the resentencing hearing. When the report is tendered to the court, the defense may also want the expert to testify at the resentencing hearing. In doing so, the expert could provide the court with information to consider when imposing an individualized sentence consistent with Miller and Montgomery.”