United States v. Gaskell

A federal jury convicted Robert Gaskell (defendant) of involuntary manslaughter of his seven-month-old daughter, Kristen. At trial, the prosecution (plaintiff) presented expert testimony from two medical examiners who disagreed about Kristen’s cause of death. The medical examiner who performed Kristen’s autopsy opined that Kristen had either died from strangulation or being struck on the head with an object. Doctor Roger Mittleman opined that Kristen likely had died of shaken-baby syndrome (SBS), a type of internal head trauma that can be caused by forcefully shaking an infant. The district court permitted Mittleman to demonstrate SBS to the jury by forcefully shaking a rubber infant mannequin used to practice cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques (the CPR doll). Mittleman admitted that he had had to shake the CPR doll with greater force than an adult would need to use to inflict SBS injuries, noting that the CPR doll’s head weighed more than an infant’s head and its neck was stiffer than an infant’s neck. The district court instructed the jury to consider Mittleman’s demonstration in light of the other statements and testimony before the jury. Gaskell’s defense was that Kristen was covered in vomit and not breathing, so he quickly picked Kristen up and shook her to attempt to revive her. Evidence indicated that vomit surrounded Kristen and that Kristen had a history of severe vomiting that had required at least four hospital visits. Two defense experts testified that Kristen’s head injuries were consistent with SBS; one expert opined that it was impossible to determine whether Kristen’s injuries resulted from deliberate abuse or a panicked revival attempt, and the other expert opined that Kristen’s injuries resulted from a misguided attempt to revive her. Gaskell appealed, arguing in relevant part that the district court had erred by admitting Mittleman’s irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial SBS demonstration.