Cory Maye: Denied and Denied

The Agitator ^ | December 29, 2006 | Randy Balko

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Cory Maye has lost his motion for a new trial. The opinion is half-assed and poorly argued. Reads like a guy who had already made up his mind, and didn't want to be bothered with the damned facts. I can't believe the same attentive judge I saw at the hearing last December cobbled the shabby thing together.

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There are some more entries on Randy's site regarding this case, one of which includes a link to the decision itself. I'm surprised nobody else has taken any notice of this case; no mention of the judge's decision appears anywhere on news.google.com.

I only read the decision fairly briefly, and it's been awhile since I've read Maye's brief, but I think the judge simply ignored one of the defendant's arguments which was that the trial court judge should not have overruled the defense's objection to ballistics expert testimony that made counterfactual suppositions regarding standard anatomical position (which the expert called 'anatomically correct position').

Had the decedent been in standard anatomical position when he was shot, it would indeed have been impossible for things to have occurred as Cory Maye claimed. Such posture would have been highly unusual for a cop entering a room at the top of some stairs. If the decedent, instead of being in standard anatomical position, were instead crouched down somewhat, then the balistics evidence would be entirely consistent with Maye's testimony.

Too bad guys like Cory Maye have to rot in prison while jerks like Nifong walk free.