Brooklyn Man Gets New Trial Due To Faulty Analysis of Rap Lyrics
Brooklyn Man Convicted In Shooting Gets New Trial After Judge Tosses Rap Lyrics “Expert” Testimony
A state appeals judge spotted the jig and granted a Brooklyn man a new trial over some dodgy testimony from a so-called expert.
Idrissa Reaves, who was convicted in 2019 of criminal facilitation, despite a jury finding him not guilty of murder, which was the primary reason for the case, is getting a second trial.
On Wednesday, September 24, the state Appellate Division Second Department reversed Reaves’ conviction, concluding that then-state Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice shouldn’t have let the prosecution use a detective inspector as an “unqualified” expert witness to give his analysis of a rap song they claim Reaves co-wrote about the killing.
Per The Daily News:
“Under the facts and circumstances of this case, the investigator was unqualified to offer expert opinion testimony regarding the meaning of the rap lyrics,” the appeals panel wrote. “Additionally, while the investigator’s initial interpretations of the lyrics were often varied and reflected the lyrics’ inherent ambiguity, the investigator’s ultimate proffered opinions precisely and remarkably mirrored the People’s exact factual theory of the case.”
Del Giudice retired last year amid a campaign by criminal justice reform advocates to pressure Gov. Hochul not to reappoint the 22-year veteran jurist.
An analysis by the judicial transparency group Scrutinize and New York University Law School’s Center on Race, Inequality and the Law found that, over the years, appellate courts have reduced 19 of Del Giudice’s sentences for being too extreme, knocking a total of 503 years off of them.
Reaves was accused of facilitating the murder of Nashan Henry in Borough Park, Brooklyn, on August 29, 2016, while the killer was never caught, and shot into Henry’s van, killing him. According to NYC law enforcement, Reaves was the driver of the gray Nissan that was used as a getaway vehicle, tailing the victim before he was murdered.
The Prosecution Wanted To Include The Rap Song In The Trial
According to The Daily News, the prosecution wanted to include the rap song in the trial. Still, the judge insisted that they obtain an expert to explain the lyrics in the music to the jury, telling them they had “10 minutes” to “get somebody to be their expert.”
Prosecutors chose Detective Investigator Kolawole Olosunde of the D.A. Office’s Special Investigations Unit to handle that job even though he had no real expertise in “street lingo.” Olosunde did conduct some gang investigations and is familiar with “some” of the terms that were used during phone calls, the ruling stated.
The defense strongly objected, but Del Giudice approved Olosunde as an expert.
“Under the circumstances of this case, we find that the People failed to establish that their proffered expert witness was qualified to render an expert opinion as to the meaning of the rap lyrics,” appellate judges wrote, concluding that Reaves was not given a fair trial.
