United States v. Watson, No. 13-30084 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, convicted of a sex crime, appealed the district court's denial of his motion to order DNA testing of the victim's clothing. At issue was whether new DNA tests that make previously useless DNA capable of identification amount to “newly discovered DNA evidence” under the Innocence Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. 3600. The court concluded that defendant identified a theory of defense that would establish his actual innocence and that the identity of the perpetrator was at issue in the trial. The court also concluded that defendant successfully rebutted the rebuttable presumption of untimeliness where the DNA evidence must be deemed “newly discovered.” Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel reversed the district court’s denial of Bill Watson’s 2013 motion pursuant to the Innocence Protection Act to order DNA testing of underwear, clothes, and vaginal swabs in a case in which Watson was convicted in 2006 of knowingly attempting to engage in a sexual act with a person physically unable to communicate unwillingness. The panel held that Watson satisfied the preconditions that he identify a theory of defense that would establish his actual innocence, and that the identity of the perpetrator was at issue in the trial. The panel held that new DNA tests that make previously- useless DNA capable of identification amount to “newly discovered DNA evidence” under the Act, even though the underwear and semen are not, thereby rebutting the presumption of the motion’s untimeliness.
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