New York's Criminal Procedure Law provides convicted defendants with a mechanism to request a DNA test. The statute in question [CPL 440.30 (1-a)] requires that such a request be granted when there is a "reasonable probability" that the verdict would have been more favorable to the defendant had such a test been performed on the evidence collected during the course of the underlying trial.
In People v. Lebron , the New York County Supreme Court denied Elvin Lebron's motion to have DNA testing performed according to that law and, on appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed.
Since CPL 440.30(1-a) "is inapplicable to persons who [have] pleaded guilty," the AD1 concluded that this particular statutory remedy was unavailable to Lebron.
Merely because someone has entered a plea should not foreclose that individual's ability to establish innocence.
We think the AD1 missed the mark.
How would you have scored it?
For a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: People v. Lebron