27-Oct-2015

TrueAllele admitted into evidence after South Carolina admissibility hearing

Beaufort, SC

TrueAllele® Casework was admitted into evidence today after a Jones challenge by the defense in South Carolina v. Jaquard Aiken. Deputy Solicitor Sean Thornton of the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office presented many binders of documents that supported TrueAllele’s admissibility.

Under the state’s Jones standard, courts must evaluate several factors: (1) the publications and peer review of the technique; (2) prior application of the method to the type of evidence involved in the case; (3) the quality control procedures used to ensure reliability; and (4) the consistency of the method with recognized scientific laws and procedures.

Judge Carmen Mullen presided over the hearing yesterday afternoon. Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Perlin of Cybergenetics, and DNA Technical Leader Dr. Gray Amick of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, testified about their validation studies and TrueAllele reliability. The judge ruled this afternoon that TrueAllele was admissible, and could be heard as DNA evidence at the jury trial.