False testimony from “expert” could lead to hundreds of new trials

Public defenders filed papers on Tuesday in Baltimore seeking a new trial for a police sergeant convicted of killing his mistress because his conviction was based partially on the testimony of Joseph Kopera, the former Maryland ballistics examiner who lied on the stand repeatedly about his credentials.

Experts say that Kopera, who resigned three weeks ago under controversy as the head of the Maryland State Police firearms division and committed suicide the next day, may have falsified results of forensic tests. As a result, hundreds of convictions based on his testimony could be overturned.

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. (Baltimore Sun, 3/22/07)

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. (3/9/07)