Daubert Hearing Not Required for DNA Evidence, Says Massachusetts High Court

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has published a decision holding that a trial court did not err by admitting prosecutors' DNA evidence without first conducting a Daubert inqury. The defense expert agreed that the tests had been conducted reliably, and he also agreed that the results indicated a DNA mixture to which the defendant and the victim could have contributed (although so could 50% of the general population). The defense expert merely contested the lab's threshold level for reportable results. That was a fitting subject for cross-examination, but not enough to trigger a Daubert hearing, according to the high court. See Commonwealth v. O'Laughlin, 446 Mass. 188 (2006).