When a criminal case captures national attention, public opinion can form long before a jury reaches a verdict. Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden and defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden have spent decades working on high-profile cases where evidence, legal strategy, and public scrutiny intersect.

The couple will discuss those experiences Saturday, Oct. 17, at True Crime Saturday: The Road to Justice, presented by Sunshine Hall Free Library. The event begins at noon at Lumberland Town Hall, followed by an audience question-and-answer session hosted by actress Melissa Gilbert.

In an interview with Radio Catskill, the Badens discussed how technology has changed criminal investigations, why the same evidence can produce different courtroom outcomes, and what it takes to achieve justice.

Technology changes the investigation

Dr. Michael Baden, whose work has included investigations involving the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and the death of George Floyd, said smartphones have transformed the public’s ability to document events, particularly encounters involving law enforcement.

“The whole ability to look into the criminal justice system has been greatly enhanced and changed” by that technology, he said.

Photographs and videos can provide important evidence, but interpreting what they show may require additional investigation and scientific analysis.

The Badens approach those questions from different perspectives. Dr. Baden examines the physical evidence, while his wife considers how that evidence fits into the legal requirements for proving a case.

They first met in person while working on a police shooting case, when Linda Kenney Baden hired him to help determine what had happened to her client.

“He came in to try to explain that truth to me and to the family,” she said.

When evidence leads to different verdicts

Dr. Baden pointed to the O.J. Simpson proceedings as an example of how courtroom outcomes can differ even when an expert’s testimony remains consistent.

Baden testified in both Simpson’s criminal trial and the subsequent civil case. He said he gave the same testimony in each proceeding. Simpson was acquitted in the criminal case but later found liable in the civil case.

Under cross-examination in the 1996 civil trial, Baden acknowledged that a lone killer and shorter timeline were technically possible, softening some of his earlier definitive stance

Baden said courtroom outcomes can also be shaped by attorneys, jury selection, and the cultural attitudes surrounding a case.

The challenge of defending an unpopular client

Linda Kenney Baden said defense attorneys can face public hostility when representing people accused of disturbing crimes.

“They normally hate us, right? Usually,” she said.

She cited the Casey Anthony case, in which Anthony was acquitted in the 2011 trial over her daughter’s death. Linda Kenney Baden said the public reaction illustrated how defense attorneys can be blamed for presenting evidence that challenges widely held beliefs about a defendant.

She said she believes defense lawyers should do more than argue that prosecutors have failed to prove guilt. When the evidence supports it, they should present their own case to jurors.

“The jurors don’t like that,” she said of relying solely on reasonable doubt. “They want to hear a case from the lawyer.”

Keeping public opinion out of the courtroom

The Badens said social media has made the public more involved in following criminal cases, but widespread discussion can also blur the line between evidence and speculation.

For Linda Kenney Baden, justice depends on jurors following the law, considering the evidence and the judge’s instructions, rather than allowing outside influences to determine the outcome.

Dr. Baden acknowledged that the system remains imperfect.

“Most of the time justice gets served okay,” he said. “But we make mistakes.”