People v. Venegas

Opinion

BAXTER, J.

I. Introduction

Defendant was convicted of rape by a jury that heard incriminating evidence based on forensic analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The prosecution’s evidence indicated (1) that defendant’s DNA profile matched the DNA profile of semen recovered from the victim’s body and from bedding at the crime scene, and (2) that the probability of a match between those DNA profiles and the profile of a person chosen at random from the general population was 1 in 65,000.

The Court of Appeal reversed the conviction for prejudicial error in the admission of the DNA evidence,…