Police "expert" lied, repeatedly.

Shocking!!!

Okay, not really.

Let the appeals commence...

Police expert lied about credentials - baltimoresun.com:

"A high-ranking police ballistics expert who testified in courts throughout Maryland and neighboring states killed himself after being confronted with evidence that he had lied about his credentials - a revelation that defense attorneys say could force new trials for some of the hundreds of people he helped convict.

Joseph Kopera, head of the Maryland State Police firearms unit, claimed on witness stands to have degrees that he never earned, state police acknowledged yesterday as they began notifying prosecutors and defense attorneys across the region of their findings.

...Questions regarding the longtime firearms and toolmarks examiner's credentials were raised several weeks ago by state public defenders working with the Innocence Project, a small unit of lawyers who represent defendants they believe have been wrongfully convicted.

Michele Nethercott, chief of the unit, said Kopera not only claimed in court to have degrees he did not earn but also forged at least one document that he offered to the Innocence Project attorneys to justify his qualifications.

"It raises huge red flags, and it's particularly disturbing because he had been doing this for so long that God knows how many cases he's been involved in," Nethercott said yesterday evening in a telephone interview from Annapolis, where she was testifying in favor of a bill that would require oversight of police crime labs in Maryland...

But you really have to appreciate the cognitive dissonace and denial required to still be able to say this:

"Joe would never, ever cut corners to put someone in jail or just to sell the case," said the former city investigator, who, noting the sensitivity of the issue, spoke on the condition that he not be named. "I don't care what degrees he did or didn't have. He knew his stuff. ... They aren't going to be able to discredit anything."