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California's DNA Testing Procedures Questioned by the U.S. Supreme Court - Protect Your Sixth Amendment Rights

By Walin & Klarich

In 2007, the California Supreme Court held that a DNA expert could testify about evidence from a test he or she did not perform. (People v. Geier (2007) 41 Cal.4th 555). This state has followed a long established practice where supervisors testify about lab tests, instead of technicians who actually tested forensic evidence. However, the validity of the California decision has been questioned by the 2008 United States Supreme Court?s ruling, which held that a defendant had a right to demand live testimony at trial from crime lab technicians who actually performed their tests. (Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts (2008) 129 S. Ct. 2527). In particular, the Court has ruled that a trial court violated defendant's rights under the Sixth Amendment during his trial on a charge alleging that he distributed cocaine, when it admitted certificates signed by state laboratory analysts which stated that material police seized was cocaine because the certificates fell within core class of testimonial statements covered by Confrontation Clause...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on February 22, 2010 (boomark / email).