State v. Norton

This case presents us with the question of whether a Forensic DNA Case Report, not executed under the penalty of perjury, but containing the language of “within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty”, was testimonial within the meaning of Williams v. Illinois, 567 U.S.-, 132 S.Ct. 2221, 183 L.Ed.2d 89 (2012).

The testimonial issue was queued up when DNA was found on a mask that, according to witnesses, had been used in a robbery; the mask later was identified as potentially belonging to Harold Norton, Jr. 1 A small piece of the mask that contained saliva, from which a DNA sample was…