Opinion ID: 2306632
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Trial Judge Properly Admitted the GSR Evidence Because the State Established the Chain of Custody.

Text: We review a trial judge's evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. [29] We review whether there is a reasonable probability that the evidence offered is what its proponent claims it to be. [30] Thus, if there is no issue of adulteration or tampering, we review the trial judge's ruling for abuse of discretion. [31] Absent an abuse of discretion, breaks in the chain of custody go to the weight rather than the admissibility of the evidence. [32] McNally objected to the GSR evidence because he contends that the State did not create a proper chain of custody. Detective Donald Christie, Jr. took GSR samples from McNally's hands at 1:45 AM on January 7, 2007 and took GSR samples from McNally's aunt's SUV on January 8, 2007. The police mailed the samples to R.J. Lee Group, a private Pennsylvania laboratory, for analysis. At R.J. Lee Group, employee Michelle Barry removed the eight vials of samples from the storage locker and placed them on the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) stage for overnight analysis. Elana Foster, the manager of the Forensic Science Department at R.J. Lee Group, had previously trained Barry to place the testing items in numerical order on the SEM for microscopic analysis. The SEM process is automatic once it is turned on. Once testing begins, any tampering with the SEM can be detected. At the end of the SEM process, the machine prints out microimages of the particles found. To verify the machine's conclusion, Foster and Dave Freehling each analyzed the evidence separately to verify the existence of gunshot particles such as lead and barium. At trial, Foster testified about the SEM process, including Barry's part, in which Barry placed the vials on the machine and turned the machine on. She testified that she trained Barry. Finally, Foster testified that there was no reason to believe that standard operating procedure was not followed. McNally objected to Foster's assumption that Barry properly placed the samples on the machine. McNally notified the trial judge of a pretrial letter he sent to the State, demanding the presence at trial of all forensic toxicologists and chemists in this case pursuant to 10 Del. C. § 4332. This demand included Barry, because she physically touched and handled the evidence. [33] The trial judge concluded that the State established a sufficient chain of custody, because there was no evidence of a reasonable probability that Barry's handling of the evidence suggested a breach of protocol that could lead to misidentifying or adulterizing the GSR evidence. The trial judge then admitted the GSR test results, and the State had Foster testify that McNally's hands and his aunt's SUV had GSR. Foster testified that GSR on McNally's hands meant that either McNally had fired a gun, was near someone who fired a gun, or touched someone or something with GSR. In chain of custody issues, the party attempting to admit the evidence must eliminate possibilities of misidentification and adulteration, not absolutely, but as a matter of reasonable probability. [34] Alleged breaks in the chain of custody are irrelevant. [35] The evidence does not suggest that Barry misidentified or adulterated the samples when she put them into the machine. That said, we find perplexing the State's assumption that it can unilaterally decide the importance of Barry's involvement in the chain of custody. McNally specifically subpoenaed Barry for trial. As with a Superior Court Criminal Rule 16 discovery demand, the State did not have the discretion to ignore subpoenas. The State should strictly comply or seek relief from compliance from the Court in the future. Although we do not condone the State's assumption that Barry's presence would have been superfluous and its failure to respond to McNally's pretrial demand for the witness' appearance, we do not conclude that Barry's described limited involvement in the chain of custody suggests a reasonable probability of adulteration or tampering. Therefore, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion by admitting the GSR evidence.