Commonwealth v. Curnin

We consider for the first time the admissibility of the results of tests comparing the DNA of a criminal defendant with DNA found at a crime scene. 1 The defendant was convicted of rape of a child, burglary, and aggravated rape, and indecent assault and battery. We allowed his application for direct appellate review.

In this case, the DNA comparison, sometimes called DNA fingerprinting, 2 tended to prove that semen found on a nightgown of a fourteen year old, handicapped rape victim was that of the defendant. Indeed, the evidence was that only one Caucasian in 59,000,000 has the same…