United States Fourth Circuit

Conviction and sentencing of defendant on drug trafficking and firearm offenses are upheld where the district court's admission into evidence a jacket recovered from the vicinity of his arrest was not an abuse of discretion, and because it correctly declined to exclude, on Confrontation Clause grounds, expert evidence concerning DNA testing performed on the jacket together with evidence documenting the jacket’s handling and custody during the testing process.

Appellate Information

• Argued 09/23/2011
• Decided 12/16/2011
• Published 12/16/2011

Judges

• KING

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:Lauren Elizabeth Case, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellant. Sujit Raman, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. ON BRIEF:James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, Denise C. Barrett, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Bryan M. Giblin, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.