Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
March 6, 2015 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
Stephen J. Markman
Mary Beth Kelly
150191-2 Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
David F. Viviano
Richard H. Bernstein,
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Justices
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v SC: 150191
COA: 313880
Macomb CC: 2012-000656-FC
KOLIE LANAR MCADOO,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v SC: 150192
COA: 313881
Macomb CC: 2012-003414-FH
KOLIE LANAR MCADOO,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the August 28, 2014
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not
persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.
MCCORMACK, J. (concurring).
I concur in the order denying leave to appeal. I write separately to note my unease
with the expert testimony regarding the toolmark evidence offered by the prosecution. In
recent years significant doubt has been cast on the reliability and scientific foundation of
that evidence. According to a 2009 forensic science report from the National Research
Council of the National Academies, toolmark analysis lacks the empirical and statistical
work that is needed to support conclusions regarding identity. The report noted that
2
[t]oolmark and firearms analysis suffers from the same limitations [as other
types of] impression evidence. Because not enough is known about the
variabilities among individual tools and guns, we are not able to specify
how many points of similarity are necessary for a given level of confidence
in the result. Sufficient studies have not been done to understand the
reliability and repeatability of the methods. [National Research Council of
the National Academies, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United
States: A Path Forward (Washington, DC: National Academies Press,
2009), p 154.]
The report also raised concerns regarding the subjectivity and error rate in toolmark
analysis, as well as the lack of a precisely defined testing process. Id. at 155. Given
these criticisms, I believe there are serious questions about whether such evidence has an
adequate scientific foundation to allow its admission under MRE 702. See Gilbert v
DaimlerChrysler Corp, 470 Mich 749, 779-783 (2004) (discussing the trial court’s role as
“gatekeeper” for the admission of expert testimony). I concur in this Court’s order
denying leave to appeal, however, because this issue is unpreserved and I am not
convinced that the defendant has demonstrated that he is entitled to relief given the other
evidence of guilt.
BERNSTEIN, J., joins the statement of MCCORMACK, J.
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
March 6, 2015
s0303
Clerk