Opinion ID: 161004
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Serologist's Report (Brady Issue)

Text: 48 The Kansas Court of Appeals held that Robbins's inability to detect sperm in the semen sample found on Williamson's body was not clearly exculpatory. Since the state court did not address the question of materiality, we have no proper state decision to give deference to, and we therefore review the district court's decision de novo. See Battenfield, 236 F.3d at 1220; LaFevers v. Gibson, 182 F.3d 705, 711 (10th Cir. 1999). The state court relied on testimony from John T. Wilson, chief forensic chemist at the Regional Crime Laboratory in Kansas City, Missouri, who said that, while he would expect to find sperm in a normal donor's semen sample, the absence of sperm would neither prove nor disprove that the donor was a sperm producer. See Gonzales, 71,217 at 4. 49 We cannot say that the result of Gonzales's trial probably would have been different had this information been disclosed to the defense. Again, we have strong evidence of guilt, and the Brady material is only equivocal. There was no suppressed evidence of the likelihood that the donor was unable to produce sperm. Rather, Wilson testified that even a normal emission from a normal donor will have portions with very little actual sperm. Moreover, age, heat, humidity, bacteria, and ultraviolet light can all degrade the quality of a sample and reduce the likelihood of finding sperm cells. Finally, Wilson testified that Robbins's use of a moist cotton swab to collect the sample reduces the likelihood of finding sperm because many cells adhere stubbornly to the cotton fibers, and some fluids used to moisten swabs can break down sperm cells. 50 All we know, therefore, is that sperm was not detected in the small sample tested. It is pure speculation, unresolved by the alleged Brady material, that it is even likely that the donor was unable to produce sperm. Therefore, we conclude the information was not material under Brady.