Florida Supreme Court Upholds DNA Testimony

Defense counsel did not render ineffective assistance by failing to raise an appellate argument that the trial court erred in admitting statistical DNA evidence without a proper Frye hearing, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled in a habeas case. See Branch v. State, No. SC05-433 (Fla. Aug. 31, 2006). Florida requires a Frye hearing only where the science is novel. The petitioner had complained that the prosecution's DNA expert was not himself a statistician and did not participate in compiling the database on which his statistical testimony was based. The high court rejected both arguments.