Pro Bono: Finnegan Obtains Dismissal of Homicide and Related Charges Against DC Man

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2025

On June 6, 2025, Judge Michael Ryan of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia granted the government’s request to dismiss homicide and related charges against Desmond Gaskin, which had been pending for over two years. The case began in 2022, when Mr. Gaskin was arrested in connection with a shooting death in southeast Washington, DC.

In the weeks leading up to trial, Judge Ryan held several days of motions hearings, including testimony and argument concerning Mr. Gaskin’s Daubert challenge to the government’s cell-tower location evidence.  Cell-tower location evidence is routinely introduced by the government in criminal prosecutions around the country and, while often challenged by defendants as unreliable and invalid under the principles of Daubert, is nonetheless routinely admitted, and has not heretofore been excluded. But in this case, Finnegan utilized its scientific acumen and technical expertise to mount significant new challenges to the scientific validity and reliability of cell-tower evidence, leading the judge to remark from the bench that he was “extremely troubled” by what the government intended to present. Just hours before he was set to issue his decision on the issue, the government dismissed the case.

The approach taken by Finnegan in this case will serve as a roadmap for defendants across the nation to expose the issues with cell-tower location evidence, and demonstrates the importance of highly technical litigation skills that cut across subject matter.

The case was led by Jason Tulley, who recently joined Finnegan from the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia with expertise in jury trials and forensic-science issues, and Cora Holt, who focuses on patent litigation, specializing in complex scientific issues in patent trials and appeals.

Additional team members include Barbara Butterworth, Sonja Sahlsten, Kyle Howarth, Bushra Haque, Jaide Cummings*, and Ryan Baker*. 

Contacts

Erika H. Arner, Managing Partner
erika.arner@finnegan.com

Anand K. Sharma, Chair
anand.sharma@finnegan.com

About Finnegan
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP is one of the largest IP law firms in the world. From offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Munich, Palo Alto, Reston, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Washington, DC, the firm practices European, German, UK, and U.S. IP law. In addition to services related to all aspects of patent, trademark, and copyright law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation, Finnegan provides counseling and litigation services in advertising, privacy, and a wide spectrum of additional IP-adjacent commercial matters, including trade secrets, international trade, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com and follow us on LinkedIn.