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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 424 _ Filed 11/08/21 Page 22 of 41
Prop., 2012 WL 526722, at *2 (“It is also inappropriate for experts to act as . .. vehicles for factual
narrative”). This “opinion” should be precluded.
4. Opinions as to “Pathways to False Allegations of Sexual Assault”
The defense’s offer of Dr. Dietz’s opinions regarding the existence of false allegations of
sexual assault and the “multiple pathways to these false allegations of sexual assault” (Ex. A at 7)
is a remarkable departure from permissible practice in a criminal trial. The very form and nature
of all of these opinions is highly prejudicial and seeks to invade the province of the jury and
displace the Court; the offer of these opinions, which are largely lifted “nearly verbatim” from a
single journal article (attached as Exhibit C), is not the product of reliable methods applied to the
case; the opinions are well within the ken of the jury; and there is no showing whatsoever of any
“fit” between these opinions and the evidence to be presented at trial.
The form of Dr. Dietz’s opinions—listing a number of disparate circumstances and
personality traits, with no showing of any connection to the evidence of this case, and conjecturing
various ways in which they could lead to false allegations of sexual assault—is a breathtaking
inversion of proper expert opinion. To appreciate the audacity of the defense approach, consider
if the Government attempted to do something similar. If the defense put on witnesses at trial, and
the Government then called in rebuttal an expert psychiatrist to offer opinions on “Pathways to
False Exculpatory Testimony” who opined that a variety of circumstances or mental conditions
could hypothetically lead individuals to testify in ways that falsely exculpated a defendant, it is
safe to assume that the defense would object. What the defense offers here is no less inappropriate.
Beyond the obvious problems with the form of the opinions, the opinions themselves are
plainly not admissible under Rule 702. Dr. Dietz’s opinion that “[flalse allegations of sexual
assault do occur” (Ex. A at 7), is not helpful to the jury. There will be no dispute that allegations
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00006233.jpg |
| File Size | 737.2 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.2% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,219 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:08:41.326331 |