From Adam's Legal Newsletter:
Ms. Diaz drove from Mexico into the United States. Border patrol officers searched her car. Alas, 28 kilograms of methamphetamine were found hidden in the door panels.
The government charged her with drug trafficking. Her defense at trial was that she didn’t know the drugs were in the car. She must have been a blind mule, she claimed.
At trial, the government called a “Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent” to testify as an expert.
The government expert testified that it is very rare for a drug mule to not know they are a drug mule.
The case is about whether this testimony violates a rule that experts cannot testify about the mental state of the defendant for the crime ("In a criminal case, an expert witness must not state an opinion about whether the defendant did or did not have a mental state or condition that constitutes an element of the crime charged or of a defense. Those matters are for the trier of fact alone").
The defense says this rule is violated, the government disagrees. Will the supreme court rule in favor of the government?