State v. Dechaine
Annotate this CaseIn 1989, Appellant was convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder. In 2008, Appellant filed a motion for a new trial pursuant to Maine’s amended DNA analysis statute. After a hearing, the superior court denied Appellant’s motion for a new trial, concluding that Appellant had not met his burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that a new trial would probably result in a different verdict. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the superior court did not err or abuse its discretion in (1) finding that Appellant failed to prove that the new DNA evidence admitted at the hearing, when considered with all the other evidence in the case, both old and new, would make it probable that a different verdict would result from a new trial; (2) limiting the evidence that Appellant could present at the hearing to evidence concerning the new DNA testing and analysis; and (3) denying Appellant’s motion to recuse.
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