Supreme Court Says No Right to Post-Conviction DNA Testing

Radley Balko | June 18, 2009

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors aren't obligated to turn over DNA for testing after someone has been convicted, even if the state acknowledges that a DNA test would prove conclusive as to guilt or innocence, and even if the defendant agrees to pay for the testing himself.

Representing the convicted man, the Innocence Project argued that a right to access a simple test that could establish actual innocence would be covered by the Constitution's due process clause.

I wrote about the case, District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne, for The Daily Beast last March.