Nebraska Supreme Court rulings
The highest state court in Nebraska. Its rulings bind all Nebraska state courts. Plain-English summaries from Criminal Defense Resources™; general education, not legal advice.
2 rulings, newest first.
State v. Coleman
The court held that a trial judge did not abuse its discretion by admitting a DNA report made with STRmix software, a probabilistic genotyping program. The report said the DNA on shell casings was at least 28 times more likely, and the DNA on a gun magazine and bullets at least 8,000 times more likely, to include the defendant than not. The court said low likelihood ratios are not a reason to exclude DNA evidence when they still support inclusion. Because the analyst explained the statistics, the jury could decide how much weight to give them, so the evidence was relevant and not unfairly prejudicial. The convictions and sentences were affirmed.
State v. Simmer
The court held that the trial judge did not abuse its discretion by admitting DNA analysis done with TrueAllele probabilistic genotyping software over the defendant's Daubert/Schafersman challenge to its reliability. It also held that a low mixture weight (a small share of the defendant's DNA in a mixture), which makes the match statistic less certain, is not a reason to exclude the evidence. That goes to weight for the jury, as long as the jury gets the statistical context. The court cautioned that its opinion does not mean TrueAllele evidence must be admitted in every future case.