S. HRG. 106–1061 POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING: WHEN IS JUSTICE SERVED? HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 13, 2000 Serial No. J–106–88 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 74–753 WASHINGTON : 2001 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 08:39 Oct 05, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 C:\DISC\74753.XXX ATX007 PsN: ATX007 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman STROM THURMOND, South Carolina PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware JON KYL, Arizona HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin MIKE DEWINE, Ohio DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York BOB SMITH, New Hampshire MANUS COONEY, Chief Counsel and Staff Director BRUCE A. COHEN, Minority Chief Counsel (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 08:39 Oct 05, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\DISC\74753.XXX ATX007 PsN: ATX007 C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Page Biden, Hon. Joseph R., Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware ............. 68 DeWine, Hon. Mike, a U.S. Senator from the State of Ohio, prepared state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 11 Feingold, Hon. Russell D., a U.S. Senator from the State of Wisconsin ............. 85 Feinstein, Hon. Dianne, a U.S. Senator from the State of California ................. 80 Hatch, Hon. Orrin, a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah ................................. 1 Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont .................... 4 Schumer, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of New York ............ 91 Sessions, Hon. Jeff, a U.S. Senator from the State of Alabama .......................... 95 Thurmond, Hon. Strom, a U.S. Senator from the State of South Carolina, prepared statement .............................................................................................. 57 WITNESSES Baird, Hon. Charles F., Former Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and Co-Chair, National Committee to Prevent Wrongful Executions, Austin, TX .......................................................................................................................... 49 Edmondson, Hon. W.A. Drew, Attorney General, State of Oklahoma, Okla- homa City, OK ...................................................................................................... 17 Camps, Enid, Deputy Attorney General, State of California, on behalf of Attorney General Bill Lockyear, Sacramento, CA ............................................. 41 Clarke, George, Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County, CA, and Mem- ber National Commission of the Future of DNA Evidence, San Diego, CA .... 105 Fritz, Dennis, Kansas City, MO ............................................................................. 115 Levin, Hon. Carl, a U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan, prepared state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 14 Marquis, Joshua, K., District Attorney, Clatsop County, OR, and Member, Board of Directors, National District Attorneys Association, Astoria, OR ...... 51 Scheck, Barry C., Professor of Law, and Co-Director, Innocence Project, Ben- jamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and Member, National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence, New York, NY .................................................... 100 Smith, Hon. Gordon H., a U.S. Senator from the State of Oregon ...................... 12 Spitzer, Hon. Eliot, Attorney General, State of New York, New York, NY ........ 36 Stevenson, Bryan A., Director, Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, and As- sistant Professor, New York University School of Law, Montgomery, AL ...... 108 Wooley, James, Baker and Hostler, and Member, National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence, Washington, DC ................................................. 117 APPENDIX QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Responses of Joshua K. Marquis to Questions from Senator Leahy ................... 143 Responses of Joshua K. Marquis to Questions from Senator Feinstein .............. 145 Responses of Dennis Fritz to Questions from Senate Committee on the Judici- ary ......................................................................................................................... 146 Marquis, Joshua, Clatsop County, District Attorney’s Office: letter to Senator Leahy .................................................................................... 143 letter to Senator Feinstein ............................................................................... 145 (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 08:39 Oct 05, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\DISC\74753.XXX ATX007 PsN: ATX007 IV Page ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973–1995 .............................. 195 Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science: Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial ............................................ 147 Excerpt from Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1993 ................................................ 69 Fein, Bruce, Former Associate Deputy Attorney General, letter and attach- ment ...................................................................................................................... 7 Johnson, Calvin, letter ............................................................................................ 132 Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont, memo- randum .................................................................................................................. 137 Postconviction DNA Testing: Recommendations for Handling Requests ............ 165 Sessions, William S., Attorneys & Counselors at Law, San Antonio, TX, letter ...................................................................................................................... 219 Yackle, Larry W., Professor of Law, Boston University, Boston, MA, letter ...... 213 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 08:39 Oct 05, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\DISC\74753.XXX ATX007 PsN: ATX007 POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING: WHEN IS JUSTICE SERVED? TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2000 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., in room SD–226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Orrin G. Hatch (chairman of the committee) presiding. Also present: Senators Thurmond, Grassley, Sessions, Leahy, Biden, Feinstein, Feingold, and Schumer. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH The CHAIRMAN. Let’s begin. This is a very important hearing. I want to welcome you all to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hear- ing on the important issue of post-conviction DNA testing, entitled ‘‘Post-Conviction DNA Testing: When Is Justice Served?’’ No one here today will quarrel with the assertion that post-con- viction DNA testing should be made available when it serves the ends of justice. Reaching agreement on a practical definition for justice, however, is a difficult and different matter. After all, justice does mean different things to different people. For the survivors of brutal crimes, justice may mean the carrying out of a court-imposed sentence without prolonged appeals. For others, especially those who are morally and vehemently opposed to capital punishment, justice may mean the indefinite delay of constitutionally-imposed death sentences. As Members of Congress, we do not have the luxury of choosing one side or the other. As the elected representatives of the people and as guardians of the Constitution, we have an obligation to bal- ance the adequacy of procedural protections afforded to defendants against the need for integrity and finality of decisions in State and Federal courts. It is my hope that in holding this hearing, we can take a first step toward reaching consensus on how best to strike this balance in the area of post-conviction DNA testing, and in doing so serving, of course, the cause of justice. Speaking of doing what is just, it is only right that at the outset of this hearing I thank Senator Leahy for his interest and leader- ship in this important topic. Those who know Senator Leahy as I do appreciate his knowledge of the law, his passion for the Con- stitution, and his willingness to take principled positions. He was among the first Members of Congress to become involved in this issue, and he came to me several weeks ago and urged this (1) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 08:39 Oct 05, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DISC\74753.XXX ATX007 PsN: ATX007 2 committee to undertake an examination of this issue. His bill, the Innocence Protection Act, has appropriately sparked a discussion over several important issues associated with capital punishment, and I think we should all be thankful for his initiative and his leadership. In the last decade, DNA testing has evolved as the most reliable forensic technique for identifying criminals