Ruling Over DNA Testing To Have Impact
Dublin Core
Title
Ruling Over DNA Testing To Have Impact
Subject
Billings, Franklin S., 1922-
Mello, Michael
Description
An article about the approval for use of DNA testing in federal court rulings.
Creator
Maynard, Michael
Source
Rutland Daily Herald
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1990-09-20
Rights
The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source.
Format
2 jpgs
Language
English
Coverage
Vermont and California
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Friday’s decision by a Vermont federal judge to allow DNA testing as evidence is the first of many federal court rulings on a controversial issue that may ultimately wind up in the nation’s highest court.
The opinion from U.S. District Judge Franklin S. Billings Jr. is the first written ruling addressing the admissibility and reliability of DNA testing to identify suspects in rape and murder cases. But the issue is far from settled.
Professor Michael Mello of Vermont Law School said while the ruling would not set a precedent for state courts to follow, it would have an effect. “Especially since Judge Billings is a respected judge, it would have a persuasive effect,” Mello said. “The court to watch is the court of appeals.”
Professor Ken Kreiling, a Vermont Law School professor who has written on the uses of scientific evidence in trials, said Friday’s decision was significant because the defense was able to effectively contest the prosecution’s experts. “There are very few cases in which it has been hotly contested and the defense had the resources to hotly contest it,” he said.
Both Mello and Kreiling said there was still not enough scientific evidence and established procedure to use the tests in criminal trials.
“One of the things I think is important is there are a number of different procedures. The labs sometime don't follow their own procedure. They kind of ad hoc as they go and what does that say for reliability,” Kreiling said.
“Most scientists say you don’t deem something to be scientific and reliable until there’s a clear protocol, until the designers are willing to put it into publications, willing to put it into the journals and defend it.”
But a California assistant district attorney who has successfully prosecuted two cases using NA testing said the proof of its reliability was in the overwhelming acceptance in state courts.
“There have been one or two or three defense successes and a couple hundred prosecution successes,” said Rock Harmon of the Oakland District Attorney’s office. “There’s a clue there. There’s a subtle hint that the debate should focus on something more worthwhile.”
California prosecutors have successfully overridden 12 challenges by defense attorneys in getting DNA testing admitted into evidence, he said. “We’ve been successful in every case.”
Mello said that the trend in courts was to admit DNA testing and let a jury decide its credibility. “Until there’s more evidence in the scientific community, more consensus, it shouldn’t be admitted at all,” he argued.
“The judges have got a role in determining the reliability of evidence, especially this kind of potentially misleading evidence. That’s a very emotionally powerful tool to out in the hands of a prosecutor, especially when the defense side doesn’t get the resources to combat that.”
While DNA testing had proven reliable, Kreiling said how the test was conducted must be weighted. “For lawyers to be able to look at all of these levels and bring in experts possesses incredible problems. That suggests to me that we ought to bend over backwards before we admit this stuff.”
The opinion from U.S. District Judge Franklin S. Billings Jr. is the first written ruling addressing the admissibility and reliability of DNA testing to identify suspects in rape and murder cases. But the issue is far from settled.
Professor Michael Mello of Vermont Law School said while the ruling would not set a precedent for state courts to follow, it would have an effect. “Especially since Judge Billings is a respected judge, it would have a persuasive effect,” Mello said. “The court to watch is the court of appeals.”
Professor Ken Kreiling, a Vermont Law School professor who has written on the uses of scientific evidence in trials, said Friday’s decision was significant because the defense was able to effectively contest the prosecution’s experts. “There are very few cases in which it has been hotly contested and the defense had the resources to hotly contest it,” he said.
Both Mello and Kreiling said there was still not enough scientific evidence and established procedure to use the tests in criminal trials.
“One of the things I think is important is there are a number of different procedures. The labs sometime don't follow their own procedure. They kind of ad hoc as they go and what does that say for reliability,” Kreiling said.
“Most scientists say you don’t deem something to be scientific and reliable until there’s a clear protocol, until the designers are willing to put it into publications, willing to put it into the journals and defend it.”
But a California assistant district attorney who has successfully prosecuted two cases using NA testing said the proof of its reliability was in the overwhelming acceptance in state courts.
“There have been one or two or three defense successes and a couple hundred prosecution successes,” said Rock Harmon of the Oakland District Attorney’s office. “There’s a clue there. There’s a subtle hint that the debate should focus on something more worthwhile.”
California prosecutors have successfully overridden 12 challenges by defense attorneys in getting DNA testing admitted into evidence, he said. “We’ve been successful in every case.”
Mello said that the trend in courts was to admit DNA testing and let a jury decide its credibility. “Until there’s more evidence in the scientific community, more consensus, it shouldn’t be admitted at all,” he argued.
“The judges have got a role in determining the reliability of evidence, especially this kind of potentially misleading evidence. That’s a very emotionally powerful tool to out in the hands of a prosecutor, especially when the defense side doesn’t get the resources to combat that.”
While DNA testing had proven reliable, Kreiling said how the test was conducted must be weighted. “For lawyers to be able to look at all of these levels and bring in experts possesses incredible problems. That suggests to me that we ought to bend over backwards before we admit this stuff.”
Original Format
Magazine Article
Contributor of the Digital Item
Matragrano, Katey
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Maynard, Michael, “Ruling Over DNA Testing To Have Impact,” HIST299, accessed September 14, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/136.