Amicus Brief: Katherine Proctor
State of Montana v. Katherine Proctor
Filing Date
January 14, 2025
Charge
Aggravated Assault on a Minor
Jurisdiction
Supreme Court of the State of Montana
Partners
Innocence Network
Summary
CIFS participated in this amicus brief filed by the Innocence Network in the Supreme Court of the State of Montana in Katherine Proctor’s case. They outline Montana Rule of Evidence 702, requiring that scientific evidence offered by expert opinion must be reliable. The state expert in Proctor’s case concluded that small subdural hemorrhage, hemorrhaging in the eyes, and hypoxic-ischemic injury are evidence that the baby was shaken. They argue the conclusion is not based on a reliable scientific method of study, therefore, violating rule 702.
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Mont R. Evid. 702 requires that scientific evidence offered through expert opinion must be reliable. The expert’s conclusion that the symptoms found in this present case—a large hypoxic ischemic injury, a small subdural hemorrhage in the cerebellar, and hemorrhages in the eyes—are evidence that the baby was physically shaken is not based on a reliable scientific field of study. Therefore, the expert testimony presented by the State violated Mont R. Evid. 702, and the District Court abused its discretion in denying the Proctor’s motion to prohibit this testimony from being presented before the jury.
Shaken Baby Syndrome (“SBS”), or Abusive Head Trauma (“AHT”), is the hypothesis that a child who exhibits a specific triad of symptoms, those being subdural hematoma or hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain); retinal hemorrhage (bleeding in the eye); and encephalopathy (neurological impairment), has been abused by intentional physical shaking. Proponents of SBS/AHT make this diagnosis largely based on this “triad” of factors. However, these factors are not standardized, and so can be used to support a finding of abusive shaking in an ad hoc and unsupported manner. Additionally, a review of the available research and data reveals no reliable scientific study validating the hypothesis that shaking, alone, causes the findings often associated with it. Rather, accidents can and do cause all of these medical findings, as can a wide variety of nontraumatic medical conditions, including genetic disorders, bleeding disorders, infection, and choking.