Opinion ID: 867611
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Precluded Cross-Examination at Trial

Text: ¶ 23 The defendant sought to cross-examine the state's DNA experts about the DPS protocol. The prosecution moved to preclude this evidence, arguing that permitting such cross-examination would allow the defense to relitigate issues that had already been decided by Judge Reinstein. Judge Gerst agreed, finding that issues relating to the reliability of the DPS protocol were not reviewable by this jury as issues to be decided in this case. The judge looked to Arizona Rule of Evidence 403 and found that the danger of juror confusion substantially outweighed the probative value of cross-examination. The crux of his ruling was that the laboratory's underlying methodology was not within the jury's province. He limited cross-examination to attacks on lab analysis error, individual case matching, lab slop, and things of that nature. [10]