Crawford v. Commonwealth

I respectfully dissent. I conclude the instruction correctly stated the law applicable to DNA evidence. It properly instructed the jurors on the legal principles, so they could apply that law to the evidence before them.

A court confronts two distinct considerations when a new scientific discovery is first offered to prove a fact. The first consideration is whether the newly discovered scientific principle is authentic. The second consideration is whether the scientific principle was applied properly to the particular circumstances of the case. The first inquiry tests the validity of the…