Defense lawyers look to reopen cases where Tara Reade testified as an expert
Under the name Alexandra McCabe, Tara Reade has for years testified for the prosecution as an expert in domestic violence cases.
But a number of California defense attorneys are considering challenging the convictions of their clients amid questions about whether Reade misrepresented her credentials under oath.
Reade, the former Joe Biden staffer who recently accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1993, stated she had an undergraduate degree that her college says she never earned and appears to have exaggerated her role in Biden’s office, according to trial transcripts in two court cases reviewed by POLITICO.
Six cases involving Reade’s testimony are already under review by the Sixth District Appellate Program, Executive Director Patrick Murray told POLITICO Thursday. The state-funded office oversees appointed defense counsel in appellate cases covering four California counties, including Monterey County, where the prosecution often tapped Reade as an expert witness.
The review will determine whether the attorneys can petition a judge to review their clients’ conviction, and potentially order a new trial.
“I have at least six cases where she testified and I have lists pending from various attorney groups where she testified as a violence expert. I expect that list will expand significantly,” said Murray. “We’re trying to get the lists together. We’re aware of Ms. Reade, we’re in the mode of trying to review the transcripts to see if she misrepresented herself in court.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/21/tara-reade-biden-expert-testimony-274460