Morten v. State

Morten v. State, No. 215 of the 2017 Term, Opinion by Moylan J. UNEXCEPTIONABLE FACTUAL BACKGROUND – HEARSAY TO THE RESCUE, OSTENSIBLY – INITIAL FOCUS – “MY GOD, IT’S A COBRA!” – PRESENT SENSE IMPRESSION – AN ALTERNATIVE HOLDING: THE TRUEALLELE MODALITY OF DNA IDENTIFICATION – THE PRECISE TARGET IN THE CROSSHAIRS: TRUEALLELE SPECIFICALLY, NOT DNA GENERALLY – ADMISSIBILITY VERSUS WEIGHT – “A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME . . . ” – THE PRETRIAL HEARING ON ADMISSIBILITY – THE PRESUMPTIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HEARING – QUALIFYING AND DISQUALIFYING AN EXPERT WITNESS – A HAMSTRUNG DEFENSE – THEORETICAL…