Court Opinion

ID: 9669810
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:09:34.48463+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:00.375413
License: Public Domain

PAUL H. ANDERSON, Justice
(concurring specially).
I concur in the result reached by the majority. The evidence in this case was sufficient to permit the jury to find appellant guilty of the murder of his wife. I write separately to address the numerous concerns raised regarding the DNA analysis of blood samples collected at the murder scene. I share Justice Sandra Gardebring’s opinion that “DNA analysis *896provides a strong tool for law enforcement in identifying alleged perpetrators of criminal activity” and “because it is such a strong tool, its use should be structured in such a way as to give criminal defendants a meaningful opportunity to respond.” State v. Bloom, 516 N.W.2d 159, 169 (Minn.1994) (Gardebring, J., concurring specially).
Here the appellant had a meaningful opportunity to respond to the DNA evidence. He had early and proper notice of the potential use of DNA evidence, expert assistance in identifying and then conveying to the jury alleged problems with the state’s DNA analysis, and the opportunity to keep the jury fully apprised of issues throughout the trial. Thus, appellant’s claim that the DNA evidence offered at his trial was inherently unreliable lacks merit.
Nevertheless, I must express my concern about the procedures followed by the BCA when conducting the DNA analysis. The results of a DNA analysis can be a very strong and powerful evidentiary tool. Because it is such a strong and powerful tool, any entity performing a DNA analysis must do its utmost to ensure that established standards, procedures, and protocols are always followed. Further, any party wishing to use a DNA analysis as evidence must accept the fact that if established standards, procedures, and protocols are compromised, the courts are willing and able to act without hesitation to remedy any error when necessary to insure that the interests of justice are served.