A Massachusetts appeals court just vacated an involuntary manslaughter conviction over the way prosecutors presented DNA evidence.
One problem, though.
The analysts who testified didn’t perform the underlying testing.
Instead, they relied heavily on the work and report of another crime-lab analyst who never took the stand.
The court found that violated the defendant’s Sixth Amendment confrontation rights — and the error was serious enough that the conviction couldn’t stand.
-The Criminal Defense Brief