Opinion ID: 1697173
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: newly discovered dna testing

Text: Finally, as the majority explains, Rivera claims that recent DNA testing has established that the hairs found in Mark Peters' van did not come from the victim and that the hairs found on the victim's body probably did not come from Rivera. There is no dispute that the DNA testing is newly discovered evidence that could not have been raised until this proceeding. Thus, the only issue is the legal question of whether the evidence satisfies the second Jones prong. Unlike the majority, I do not think the trial court erred in summarily denying this claim. I agree with the trial court that in light of the considerable evidence of Rivera's guilt and the limited probative value of the hair evidence offered at trial, the newly discovered DNA testing is not of such a nature that it would probably produce an acquittal on retrial. At Rivera's trial, the State presented evidence to support the theory that the crime had occurred in a van that Rivera borrowed from his friend, Mark Peters. In particular, the State presented the testimony of Howard Seiden, an expert in hair identification and comparison. Seiden testified that it was his scientific opinion that the hair from the bed of the van could be concluded as being a source from the victim. Seiden then qualified his testimony, explaining, With respect to hairs, I don't think of it as a fingerprint. It's not unique, so it's not to the exclusion of everyone else. Hairs do not contain enough microscopic characteristics to be able to exclude everyone else on a hair match. Seiden reiterated this point during cross-examination. He agreed with defense counsel's statement that hairs don't possess a sufficient number of unique individual microscopic characteristics to be positively identified as having originated from the particular person, to the exclusion of all others. Seiden also agreed that the hair standards from Rivera did not correlate with hairs found on the clothing of the victim. DNA testing has proven that the hairs found in the van did not originate from the victim and that the hairs found on the victim's body did not originate from Rivera. Rivera argues that this discovery is exculpatory. I do not agree. The DNA testing of the hairs found on Jazvac's body does not tend to prove Rivera's innocence. While the presence of Rivera's hair on Jazvac would be incriminating, the absence of his hair does not prove that he did not commit the murder. It only proves that he did not leave behind hair evidence. The DNA testing is merely cumulative to the expert witness's testimony that the hairs found on the victim did not correlate to the Rivera standards and thus is not likely to produce an acquittal on retrial. The State did present evidence that hairs consistent with those of Staci Jazvac were found in Mark Peters' van. However, it must be kept in mind that expert witness Seiden never testified that the hairs conclusively came from the victim. Instead, he repeatedly encouraged the jury to recognize the limitations of hair comparison analysis. The State likewise downplayed the significance of the hair comparison evidence. While reviewing the evidence during opening and closing statements, the State referred to the hairs found in the van as being consistent with Staci Jazvac's hair but reiterated Seiden's warning that hair comparison techniques cannot produce definitive matches. [10] In contrast to the limited probativeness of the hair analysis evidence, the State presented compelling evidence of Rivera's guilt, including Rivera's confessions to various witnesses and his incriminating statements to law enforcement officers. During closing arguments, the State urged the jury to rely on the confessions and statements to convict Rivera. This evidence is unaffected by the recent DNA testing. Accordingly, I find that the newly discovered DNA evidence is not of a nature that would probably produce an acquittal on retrial.