State v. Watkins

HORTON, Justice.

This case comes before the Court upon review of an Idaho Court of Appeals decision vacating the conviction of Vance A. Watkins and remanding his case for a new trial. A jury found Watkins guilty of one count of lewd conduct with a minor in violation of I.C. § 18-1508. The court of appeals held that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting testimony from the State’s DNA expert, who did not conduct DNA testing herself and whose testimony reflected information about the testing that she obtained from a colleague. The colleague did not testify. Although Watkins alleges…