Commonwealth v. Rosier
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
685 N.E.2d 739 (1997)
Adam Rosier (defendant) was identified as a murder suspect after a laboratory, Cellmark Diagnostics, used short tandem repeat (STR) DNA testing, a relatively new technique, to match blood and tissue from the crime scene to Rosier's samples; at a pretrial hearing, experts testified the scientific community generally accepted STR testing as reliable when performed with proper protocols and an adequately sized database for statistical validity, and that Cellmark met those conditions. The trial judge admitted the STR results, and Rosier was convicted and appealed, arguing the technique's reliability had not been sufficiently established.
Whether evidence derived from a new scientific technique is admissible if expert evidence shows the relevant scientific community generally accepts the technique as reliable and properly employed.