12-May-2024

US v. Anderson – A defendant argues against science

In a Central Pennsylvania Daubert hearing in federal court, a defender brought in experts and arguments but couldn’t keep out the TrueAllele computer results. The state crime laboratory found “no interpretable results due to the complexity of the mixtures.” But TrueAllele’s math can look more deeply into the DNA data to find the right answer. Cybergenetics’ computers easily solved the four-person mixture. A DNA match statistic of over a trillion connected the defendant to the weapon.

The defense argued about computer source code. They argued about scientific reliability. They refused to test the TrueAllele software Cybergenetics provided on DNA data. Scientists test, advocates argue. Dr. Mark Perlin testified at a Daubert hearing in December 2022 about the TrueAllele testing. In April 2023 the court wrote, “TrueAllele has been tested and validated, subjected to peer review, and broadly accepted in the field of forensic science,” finding it to be admissible. This year the defendant accepted a plea agreement.