WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative and liberal justices appeared divided Monday about giving convicts a constitutional right to run DNA tests on evidence. For 232 people, such tests have meant exoneration years after they were found guilty.
The issue arose in the case of William Osborne, who was convicted in a brutal attack on a prostitute in Alaska 16 years ago. He won a federal appeals court ruling granting him access to a blue condom that was used during the attack. Testing its contents would firmly establish his innocence or guilt, says Osborne, who has admitted his guilt in a bid for parole.
The court’s four liberal justices seemed to be in general agreement that prosecutors should open their evidence locker when it contains genetic material that could reveal whether someone has been wrongly imprisoned. The numbers wouldn’t be very large, Justice John Paul Stevens said.
The four conservatives were wary of deciding to allow DNA testing so broadly that “it appears that the prisoner is gaming the system,” as Justice Samuel Alito said.
In the middle, as he often is, was Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy seemed willing to accept that any right to a DNA test would have to follow a claim of innocence, made under penalty of perjury.
Alaska is one of only six states without a DNA testing law. The others are Alabama, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Mississippi and South Dakota.
Other action Monday from the U.S. Supreme Court
School prayer: The court refused to hear a high school coach’s appeal of a school district ban on employees joining a student-led prayer. East Brunswick, N.J., coach Marcus Borden (at right) used to bow his head and drop to one knee when his football team prayed. The decision could add another restriction on prayer in schools, advocates said. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said some parents had complained about Borden’s praying: “The bottom line is people in positions of authority, like a coach, have to be extremely careful about trying to promote their ideas, or implying that if you don’t pray, you may not play.” Borden was not available for comment.
Agent Orange: The court turned down American and Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange who wanted to pursue lawsuits against companies such as Dow Chemical and Monsanto that made the toxic chemical defoliant used in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange has been linked to cancer, diabetes and birth defects.
Freelancers: The court will consider reviving the $18 million settlement of a dispute involving payment to freelance writers for use of their work online. The settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by the freelancers against publishers and database companies had earlier been thrown out. The case largely applied to articles, photos and illustrations produced 15 or more years ago, before contracts provided for the material’s electronic use.
By The Associated Press; Associated Press file photo
