Overview
- New Jersey becomes the first state high court to prohibit prosecutors from presenting expert opinions that shaking alone causes the injuries associated with abusive head trauma.
- The majority said the state failed to show general acceptance across relevant fields, citing no test proving humans can generate the necessary forces through shaking without impact.
- Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis wrote that prosecutors may still offer other evidence of abuse and that future, reliable biomechanical support could reopen the door to such testimony.
- Justice Rachel Wainer Apter dissented, arguing the ruling discounts the consensus of major medical societies and ventures too far into scientific disputes.
- The ruling stems from cases against Darryl Nieves and Michael Cifelli, with Nieves’ 2022 dismissal remaining intact and Cifelli’s lawyer saying he will seek dismissal under the new standard.