mock trial

• Mechanical engineering


  The study of power-producing machines
• Amari Lewis


  • 48 years old
  • Lives in Rhode Island
  • Attended Northern Arizona University and the University of Rhode Island
  • Has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master's in Mechanical Engineering
  • Career is in firearms and ballistics
  • Has worked in firearms and ballistics for 26 years
  • Has worked in multiple labs and opened her own
  • Has worked as a design engineer at Summerland Defense Industry
• Amari Lewis is being qualified as an expert in mechanical engineering and firearms
• Amari Lewis' involvement in the investigation of Timothy Eagan's death

  Studying Armistad's gun and the bullets found in Eagan's body
• Amari Lewis does not know Carolyn Armistad personally, but has been hired by her defense attorney 30 times
• Amari Lewis' analysis of the bullets

  1. Fired 5 test bullets from the gun into tanks of water

  2. Compared them to the bullets in Tim's body under a comparison microscope

  3. Analyzed every aspect
• The bullets found in Eagan's body are not from Armistad's gun but from a different one
• Amari Lewis' answers are to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty
• - the defendant is not allowed to testify
• - the prosecution presents their case first
• - the defense can present evidence that contradicts or supports the prosecution's case
• the prosecution must prove that the accused committed the offence beyond reasonable doubt
• My role
• Statement of Amari Lewis
• I've spent my entire 25-year career in firearms and ballistics
• After obtaining my Bachelor's degree I went to work for Summerin Defense Industries in Summetin as a design engineer while working on my ME
• My job was to design new and improved handguns, and come up with ways to make existing handgun designs better
• I gained a highly detailed, intimate knowledge of how handguns function
• After my schooling, I went to work for a variety of forensics labs around the northwest getting hands-on training and experience in firearms and ballistics investigation and analysis
• I found that about 70% of the cases the labs were hired by a firearms manufacturer to investigate accidental deaths and determine whether a firearm was defective
• The other 30% of cases were criminal, where we were hired by the defense
• Most law enforcement agencies either have their own forensics lab, or a state lab available, so we were never hired to do prosecution work
• I qualified as a Distinguished Member of the Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners (AFTE), and at that time decided to open my own lab
• I don't do any civil work in my lab, only criminal work exclusively for defendants in criminal trials
• I get paid $185 per hour for any time I spend on the case, including investigation trial prep, and testimony
• I've been hired by Carolyn Amistad's defense attorney in about 30 cases
• I made the decision to work exclusively for the defense after seeing how closed law enforcement agencies are to new ideas
• Some of the law enforcement labs I worked for were downright rude to me when I tried to show them how they could do their jobs better
• I also witnessed what a poor job police departments do when it comes to firearms and ballistics evidence
• Police ballistics examiners usually have no formal scientific education, let alone any education beyond high school
• Most are not certified by ballistics organizations
• They are only "build-certified" by the department that trained them, and there is virtually no oversight of that
• I wanted my expertise to stand above the law enforcement crowd
• Internal ballistics


  What happens inside the firearm when the trigger is pulled
• External ballistics


  What happens between the time the bullet leaves the firearm and the moment of target impact
• Terminal ballistics


  The mechanics of impact on the target and the projectile
• Forensic ballistics


  Analyzes the bullet and the cartridge to see if they can be linked to a particular weapon
• Forensic ballistics relies on an analysis of toolmarks
• When two objects come into contact the harder object will leave marks on the softer object, even though the marks may be very small and only visible under a microscope
• When the firing pin on a weapon comes into contact with the shell casing, and when the projectile comes in contact with the barrel of the weapon as it travels through, that contact leaves toolmarks