United States v. Mccluskey

954 F.Supp.2d 1224 (2013)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Several handguns were collected when Tracy Province, and later D and Casslyn Welch, were arrested. Numerous swabs were taken from a pickup truck and from items inside the truck. These items and others were tested by Carrie Zais Davis, the Government's DNA analyst. Davis produced a number of reports setting forth her test results, her analyses, and her opinions. P asserts that a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was the murder weapon. Davis tested and analyzed a number of swabs taken from different parts of this handgun, Item 1B22. Davis's report states her opinion: 'To a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, D is the source of the major DNA profile resolved from these mixtures.' D disputed this evidence and more but the court held it admissible. The court then addressed what is called the LCN evidence. The Court held an evidentiary hearing on LCN testing. P argues that its DNA evidence on Item 1B23B (swab from bottom of Smith & Wesson magazine) is admissible under Daubert and Rule 702. Davis's lab report states her conclusion that Item 1B23B is a single source sample and that its source was Tracy Province, based on a match at 11 out of 15 loci. The amount of DNA in Item 1B23B is 215 picograms (pg)-making this a Low Copy Number (LCN) result, according to the NMDPS Lab's protocol.