I'm a Dallas county prosecutor prosecuting an Aggravated Robbery wherein my Defendant is wearing a mask. The CW recognizes him by his voice. This is all on store videotape w/ an audio component. Our corroboration is weak, so I'm trying to shore up my case with a voice recognition expert. Any suggestions?

Try Barry Dickey at Audio Evidence Lab, 201 Cordoba Court, Arlington 76014 - 817-417-0778.

Last year our office was going to try a 1988 engaging case that had been reversed. We used Mike McDermott from Virginia in the original trial as our voice recognition expert and Dr. Hirotaka Nakasone from the FBI to prove the science. Our case involved a state wiretap of a drug group - the two top players are identical twins - but with different voiceprints. The defendants entered pleas of guilty and went back to the pen. Barry was great to work with though and may be the only guy in Texas who can do this type of work.

Thanks, Jim. I really appreciate your response. I'll contact him. My defendant is a real thug and has been terrorizing this neighborhood for several years. We need to nail him.
Clark

For a good discussion of the problems connected with expert voice identification, check out US v. Drones, 218 F3d 496. It is not one of the more accepted fields of science.

John is right - voiceprint identification is certainly not as accepted as other methods of identifications - fingerprints. However, it has been accepted in the majority of the federal circuits and our case there was no problem with the voiceprint admissibility and the appellate court did not even write on that issue.

Thanks Jim and John for your input. Jim, do you think Barry would've made a good witness i.e. good impression on jury, good personality, etc?

We were not anticipating any problems with Barry. He was very able to explain the science behind the meothod to a couple of prosecutors with a limited technical background. In fact, if my memory is correct, he had previously testified for the lead defense attorney - Gerald Goldstein.