DNA evidence

3 opinions tagged “DNA evidence”

June 12, 2026 Court of Appeal of the State of California, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three

P. v. Konther 6/12/26 CA4/3

The Rule of People v. Konther is that a defendant has no reasonable expectation of privacy for DNA evidence abandoned at crime scenes through the commission of sexual assault, under circumstances where semen is voluntarily deposited during criminal activity and subsequently analyzed using investigative genetic genealogy.

June 1, 2026 Supreme Court of California

P. v. Demolle 6/1/26 SC

The Rule of People v. Demolle is that a suspect's consent to provide a blood sample is not the product of an unlawful detention where the encounter remains consensual, under circumstances where a reasonable person would feel free to leave or terminate the encounter despite being taken to a police station and briefly held in locked interview rooms.

criminal Fourth Amendment consent detention Miranda DNA evidence blood sample suppression motion jury bias mistrial death penalty murder sexual assault confession

April 20, 2026 Supreme Court of California

P. v. Bertsch and Hronis 4/20/26 SC

The Rule of People v. Bertsch and Hronis is that a defendant's extreme religious beliefs alone do not render him mentally incompetent under Penal Code section 1367 if he is unwilling, rather than unable, to cooperate with counsel, under circumstances where the defendant understands the proceedings and can rationally assist in his defense despite his religious convictions.

criminal capital murder mental competency due process DNA evidence death penalty self-representation religious beliefs developmental disability expert testimony competency proceedings Dusky standard