Back to Press Releases
22-Oct-2014
TrueAllele Casework Ruled Admissible in Ohio Daubert Challenge
Reliable Cybergenetics computer analysis of complex DNA aids conviction
PITTSBURGH, PA, October 22, 2014
An Ohio judge ruled that TrueAllele® Casework is reliable under the Daubert admissibility standard. Judge Maureen Clancy also denied discovery of TrueAllele source code. The defendant Maurice Shaw accepted a guilty plea shortly after the Cleveland ruling.
Cybergenetics TrueAllele is a computer system that uses sophisticated mathematics to accurately determine DNA match statistics. Forensic DNA data can pose interpretation challenges, particularly with mixtures of two or more people. Crime labs may under-report highly informative mixtures as “inconclusive,” discarding valuable evidence. TrueAllele preserves this identification information to aid criminal investigations, convictions and exonerations.
“DNA evidence is invaluable to the criminal justice system, and so every advancement in analyzing it advances the cause of justice,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty. “Judge Clancy’s ruling to accept Dr. Perlin as an expert witness and to find TrueAllele’s DNA mixture analysis admissible is an important step forward that will improve the scientific fact-finding abilities of all parties in the criminal justice system.”
The winning Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office team included Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Katherine Mullin, Margaret Troia and Scott Zarzycki, with assistance from Kristen Hatcher. Prosecution expert witnesses were Dr. Mark Perlin of Cybergenetics, and forensic scientist Jay Caponera from the New York State Police. Professors Ranajit Chakraborty and Dan Krane testified for the defense.
“TrueAllele makes a real difference every day in protecting the public from rapists and murderers,” said Cybergenetics President Dr. Ria David. “By complementing crime lab capabilities with scientifically reliable computing, TrueAllele serves criminal justice.”
TrueAllele has been used in over a hundred criminal cases with complex DNA evidence. The system has withstood admissibility challenges in California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as overseas. Seven peer-reviewed scientific studies have demonstrated TrueAllele’s reliability.
Cybergenetics develops patented TrueAllele technology that objectively interprets DNA evidence, providing computer systems and databases to crime labs, and expert witness services for criminal cases. The Pittsburgh-based company reanalyzed the World Trade Center disaster DNA data.
Admissibility Ruling