JAMES THOMAS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court affirmed the admission of DNA mixture frequency statistics under the Frye test as an accepted extension of the product rule, but reversed the conviction due to error in the manslaughter jury instruction under Montgomery v. State.
The combined frequency analysis of DNA mixtures satisfies the Frye test as an extension of the product rule, and any error in admitting such evidence was harmless; however, the conviction must be reversed due to error in the manslaughter jury instruction.
[1] Combined frequency analysis of DNA mixtures constitutes an extension of the product rule and satisfies the Frye test as a generally accepted method of DNA calculation in…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was convicted of second-degree murder based in part on expert testimony regarding combined frequency statistics of DNA mixtures.…
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Appellant challenges his conviction for second-degree murder, raising two issues on appeal: The trial court erred in admitting expert testimony over Appellant’s objection that the State failed to demonstrate that the formula used to calculate the combined frequency statistics of several DNA mixtures satisfied the Frye1 test; and the trial court fundamentally erred in giving the standard jury instruction for manslaughter by act.
We affirm as to the first issue because the trial court properly found that the combined frequency analysis at issue was an extension of the product rule, which has been recognized in Florida as a generally accepted method of DNA calculations. See Butler v. State, 842 So.2d 817, 829 (Fla.2003) (acknowledging that Florida and other jurisdictions have accepted use of the product rule). Further, even if the trial court erred in admitting the evidence, any such error was harmless.
*627With regard to the second issue, we are required to reverse Appellant’s conviction in light of Montgomery v. State, — So.3d -, 2009 WL 350624 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009).
AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED for a new trial.
WEBSTER, LEWIS, and THOMAS, JJ., concur.
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Citator
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Rivera v. State, 29 So. 3d 1139 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)…n fundamental error grounds where the trial court gave the standard jury instruction for manslaughter by act. However, in those cases, manslaughter by act was a lesser-ineluded offense, not the main charge as it is in this case. See Thomas v. State, 22 So. 3d 626 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009); Gough v. State, — So. 3d -, 2009 WL 3164113 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009); Hardee v. State, - So. 3d -, 2009 WL 3047359 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009); White v. State, 16 So. 3d 1004 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009); Ward v. State, 12 So. 3d 920 (Fla. 1st DCA 20…
Authorities Cited
- Butler v. State, 842 So. 2d 817 (Fla. 2003)