Opinion ID: 1914912
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Bunsen Burner

Text: The proponent of scientific evidence has the burden to establish the proper foundation for the admissibility of a scientific test by showing that the methodology used is generally reliable and that it produced reliable results in the specific case. Goeb v. Tharaldson, 615 N.W.2d 800, 816 (Minn.2000). In Minnesota, the two-pronged Frye-Mack test must be satisfied before such evidence may be admitted. State v. Traylor, 656 N.W.2d 885, 891 (Minn.2003). That test proceeds as follows: First, a novel scientific technique that produces evidence to be admitted at trial must be shown to be generally accepted within the relevant scientific community, and second, the particular evidence derived from the technique and used in an individual case must have a foundation that is scientifically reliable. Put another way, the Frye-Mack standard asks first whether experts in the field widely share the view that the results of scientific testing are scientifically reliable, and second whether the laboratory conducting the tests in the individual case complied with appropriate standards and controls. State v. Roman Nose, 649 N.W.2d 815, 818 (Minn.2002) (citations omitted). The standard of review in Frye-Mack analyses is also two-pronged: Whether a particular principle or technique satisfies the first prong, general acceptance in the relevant scientific field, is a question of law that we review de novo. District court determinations under the second prong, foundational reliability, are reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard, as are determinations of expert witness qualifications and helpfulness. Goeb, 615 N.W.2d at 815 (internal citations omitted). The DNA samples in this case were stored on two slides. The samples were protected by cover slips that were adhered to the slides by a mounting medium. BCA forensic scientist Knutson removed the cover slips by heating the slides over a low heat for 30 seconds, using a Bunsen burner, until the mounting medium boiled and loosened. At a pretrial hearing, Knutson conceded that this method of removing a cover slip had not been studied and that [i]t can lead to degradation of the DNA sample. Defense expert witness Dan E. Krane testified that the Bunsen burner method has not been validated and that, under the standards of the DNA Advisory Board (DAB), the use of such a technique without a validation study would violate guidelines and could cause a laboratory to lose its accreditation. [16] In Traylor, we held that the DAB standards are the appropriate ones to govern DNA testing. 656 N.W.2d at 900. The district court concluded that [t]he record is very clear that the BCA has not done a validation study on the use of Bunsen burners to heat slides for purposes of removing cover slips to extract DNA. The reason why such a study has not been done remains a mystery. The court found the BCA's failure to conduct a validation test troubling, but it admitted the DNA evidence based upon testimony from state experts Knutson and James Iverson that (1) the Bunsen burner method had been successfully used in 10-15 previous extractions conducted by the BCA; (2) the method was still in use in the BCA's laboratory; and (3) Iverson feels the procedure is appropriate and reliable. The court found it significant that all expert witnesses agreed that there are no studies which have found that it is possible to alter one complex DNA profile to another complex DNA profile. And the court stated that it would be pure speculation for the Court to conclude that the Bunsen burner was primarily responsible for the partial DNA profile obtained. In conclusion, the court said, the State has narrowly met its burden of demonstrating reliability under Goeb.  Because the court's decision relied heavily on Iverson's claim that the Bunsen burner technique had been used successfully in 10-15 previous cases, the court granted Bailey's motion for discovery on those cases. By the time of trial, it appeared that two of the key factors relied upon by the district court in its pretrial ruling were, or turned out to be, doubtful. First, the court's emphasis on the expert agreement that a DNA profile cannot be altered to fit a different profile missed the main point of Bailey's argument. Bailey's concern was not that someone else's DNA sample may have been altered to match his. Instead, his concern was that someone else's DNA sample may have been degraded, possibly by the burner technique, to the point that it was indistinguishable from his because reliable interpretation could not be made at certain loci that might have excluded him. Second, the state failed to substantiate Iverson's claim of 10-15 successful uses of the Bunsen burner technique by the BCA. The state was able to produce in discovery only five Burner cases. [17] Bailey argued at trial that those cases evidenced sample degradation similar to that of the sample in this case. Also, after the pretrial ruling, Iverson ordered a validation study on the Bunsen burner method. At trial, he testified that the results indicated that it took anywhere from 60 to 90 seconds of direct holding of that slide in the flame to create the point where you couldn't get a full DNA profile   , and again it was holding it right in the flame. In contrast, Knutson testified that, in this case, she only held the slide at the edge of the flame for 30 seconds. Bailey argues that the validation study used only pristine DNA samples, unlike the 16-year-old sample in this case, and was not reliable. Because the study had not been conducted until after the pretrial hearings, and the results had not been provided to Bailey or the court at the time of Bailey's motion to reconsider the motion to suppress DNA evidence, it was not considered by the court when deciding Bailey's motion to suppress the DNA evidence. We hold that the district court's findings are insufficient to satisfy fully the second prong of the Frye-Mack standard for the admission of DNA results where the Bunsen burner technique has been used. The second prong requires proof of foundational reliability of the operating procedure as actually applied in the specific case. The district court did find the Bunsen burner technique was reliable, but that determination was tenuous because of the absence of validation studies and the reliance upon the state's claim of 10-15 successful uses, a claim that remains unsubstantiated. Further, the district court did not address the factual dispute concerning whether the DAB standards require validation studies for such an operating procedure. Finally, the district court's holding that it would be pure speculation for the Court to conclude that the Bunsen burner was primarily responsible for the partial DNA profile obtained (i.e., that it damaged the sample), improperly shifts the foundational burden away from the state. We therefore direct that a Frye-Mack second prong hearing on the Bunsen burner procedure be held to determine whether any DNA evidence is admitted at the new trial. See Roman Nose, 649 N.W.2d at 822-23 (requiring a Frye-Mack hearing on remand).
Bailey's final challenge to the DNA evidence is that the Polymerase Chain Reaction and Short Tandem Repeats (PCR-STR) method and the Profiler Plus kit used by Knutson do not meet the Frye-Mack standards of general acceptance in the scientific community and foundational reliability, as held by the Minnesota Court of Appeals in Traylor, 641 N.W.2d at 339-41. Bailey further adopts the argument made in Traylor, that even if the PCR-STR method meets the Frye-Mack standards, its use violates due process. Subsequent to the filing of Bailey's brief in this appeal, we reversed the court of appeals' decision in Traylor and held that the PCR-STR method and the Profiler Plus and Cofiler kits satisfied the Frye-Mack requirements of general acceptance in the scientific community and foundational reliability. Traylor, 656 N.W.2d at 900. We also rejected Traylor's due process argument. Id. But there were facts in Traylor that were critical to our due process analysis that are absent here and that necessitate further review of this argument. Traylor was convicted of second-degree assault and controlled substance possession in connection with a stabbing incident. Id. at 887. A key piece of evidence against Traylor was a DNA sample from a bloody knife found at the scene of the crime. Id. Traylor challenged the district court's admission of the DNA evidence, arguing that (1) the BCA's use of PCR-STR testing failed to meet the Frye-Mack standard and (2) the same testing violated his due process rights. Id. at 887, 898. Central to both of Traylor's arguments was the fact that he was not given access to the genetic primer sequences in the Profiler and Cofiler kits because those sequences are guarded as proprietary information by the kits' manufacturer. Id. at 890. We summarized the parties' due process arguments as follows: Traylor relies heavily on State v. Schwartz in making this constitutional challenge. In Schwartz, we recognized that [t]he fair trial and due process rights [under the Constitution] are implicated when data relied upon by a laboratory in performing tests are not available to the opposing party for review and cross examination. We further noted in Schwartz that [i]deally, a defendant should be provided with the actual DNA sample(s) in order to reproduce the tests and that if that is not possible, access to the data, methodology, and actual results is crucial so a defendant has at least an opportunity for independent expert review. Our Minnesota discovery rules also echo the concerns set forth in Schwartz. Rule 9.01, subd. 1(4) of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that defense counsel has a right to inspect results of scientific tests and that, if a test precludes any further testing, the defense must receive reasonable notice and an opportunity to have a qualified expert observe the test. The state contends that the BCA's policy fully addresses the access to information concerns stated in Schwartz and in the discovery rules. Specifically, the state points to the BCA's policy, which requires that, when possible, a portion of the evidence sample be retained at the BCA laboratory. If the entire sample must be used, the BCA's policy requires the scientist to notify the prosecuting attorney so that the defense has the opportunity to have its own expert observe the testing. In this case, as is common in PCR-STR testing situations, the DNA sample was not consumed, and a portion of the DNA sample was available for further testing by Traylor. Further, the state contends that Traylor had full access to all information in the BCA's possession. Such available information included extensive documentation of the BCA's work, including methodology, actual results of all testing, and compliance with standards and controls. Therefore, the state asserts, the BCA has provided Traylor with sufficient access to the laboratory's testing data and results for review and cross-examination, allaying constitutional concerns. Traylor, 656 N.W.2d at 898 (quoting State v. Schwartz, 447 N.W.2d 422, 427-28 (Minn.1989)) (internal citations omitted). Although the author would conclude that, on this record, the admission of the DNA evidence violated Bailey's due process rights, the majority of the court does not agree. The holding of the majority is that the concerns expressed about the age and condition of the DNA sample, the lack of notice to Bailey of destructive testing, the use of the Bunsen burner technique to remove the cover slip from the lab slide, and the unavailability of the genetic primer sequences of the Profiler kit do not, individually or collectively, rise to the level of a due process violation. Instead, Bailey's complete access to the data, methodology and results of the BCA's DNA tests satisfied his due process rights under Schwartz, 447 N.W.2d at 427 (Minn.1989) and State v. Jobe, 486 N.W.2d 407, 419 (Minn.1992). A more complete discussion of the majority's conclusion on this issue is contained in the concurrence and dissent of Justice Russell Anderson.