Opinion ID: 1915285
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Admissibility of Hair Analysis Evidence

Text: In another issue, Appellant argues that admission of the hair comparison evidence violated his constitutional rights to due process pursuant to this Court's decision in Topa, 471 Pa. 223, 369 A.2d 1277. [17] In Topa, this Court reversed a murder conviction that was based on testimony of an expert in spectography, who identified the appellant's voice during a confession on a recorded telephone call. This Court rejected the use of spectography as its validity was not generally accepted by those in the same scientific field. Id. at 1281. Appellant contends that hair comparison evidence is similarly unaccepted, and should not have been permitted at trial. This issue, to the extent it involves a constitutional question, is waived. [18] 42 Pa.C.S. ง 9544(b). As Appellant notes, nothing prevented counsel from raising this issue on direct appeal. Appellant seeks to resurrect the claim by making a blanket claim of ineffectiveness for failing to raise the issue on appeal. Again, he does not meaningfully address the three prongs of the Pierce test with minimally adequate detail. Therefore, this claim too must fail. See Jones, supra . Further, as we noted in disposing of Appellant's claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to cross-examine Mr. Podolak adequately, the evidence against Appellant was overwhelming, and we cannot conclude that had counsel raised this issue on appeal, the conviction would have been reversed.