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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 499 _ Filed 11/23/21 Page 18 of 28
patients were telling the truth without evaluating, for example, “the changes in the core details of
the allegations” of her patients, which is something “professionals” in the field do. Ex. 1, p 10.
If, however, Dr. Rocchio testifies that she does not merely assume alleged victims are
telling the truth (as when, for example, Dr. Rocchio is acting in a forensic rather than clinical
capacity, see Ex. 2, p 39-40), and that her expert opinions are based on a rigorous inquiry into the
veracity the claims, Dr. Dietz’s opinions are still reliable and admissible. He can testify, for
example, that because the literature does not support the hypothesis that emotional distress (e.g.,
crying) is predictive of truthfulness, Ex. 1, p 11, Dr. Rocchio is wrong to base her opinions about
her patients on such conduct.
For another thing, Dr. Dietz does not propose to tell the jury who is telling the truth and
who is not telling the truth. Thus, to use this Court’s words,
Dr. [Dietz’s] testimony is appropriate because []he does not testify as to any
specific witness’s credibility. See, e.g., Torres, No. 20-CR-608 (DLC), 2021 WL
1947503, at *7; Johnson, 860 F.3d at 1140 (8th Cir. 2017) (explaining that an expert
may testify “regarding the general characteristics that sexually abused children
exhibit” but may not usurp the jury’s role of assessing the credibility of any specific
victim); United States v. Telles, 6 F.4th 1086, 1097-98 (9th Cir. 2021) (same).
(Dkt. 435, p 5).
The government is wrong to rely on United States v. Lumpkin (distinguishable on other
grounds in any event), in which the Court affirmed the district court’s decision to exclude
“testimony on witness confidence in identifications.” 192 F.3d 280, 289 (2d Cir. 1999). Mot. at
22. Not only did Lumpkin concern eyewitness identification (a concept far afield from the
testimony at issue here), but the expert witness there proposed to evaluate the credibility of
witnesses who made the identification of the defendant. Dr. Dietz does not propose to testify to
the credibility of accusers in this case.
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00007483.jpg |
| File Size | 716.7 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.4% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,175 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:23:50.362968 |