Blood Trail Leads To Simpson, DNA Expert Says
SANTA MONICA, Nov. 14 (Noon) --Robin Cotton, laboratory director of Cellmark Diagnostics, finished testifying Thursday morning about her company's DNA analysis of blood evidence found at the Bundy crime scene and at Simpson's home.
Scheduled to take the stand this afternoon are California Department of Justice employees Renee Montgomery and Gary Sims. Both performed DNA testing of evidence in the Simpson case.
Cotton told the jury that her lab's testing showed that blood on a sock in Simpson's bedroom matched Nicole Brown Simpson's blood sample. The chance that the blood belonged to another person was one and 6.8 billion or higher, Cotton said. The plaintiffs, as they finished their direct examination, used Cotton to counter the defense theory that blood from Nicole Brown Simpson's reference vial was planted on Simpson's socks. The blood on the socks was rich with DNA, Cotton testified, while Nicole Brown Simpson's reference blood contained "substantially" degraded DNA.
On cross examination, defense lawyer Robert Blasier tried to show that DNA testing is too complicated to produce wholly accurate results. He also pointed to errors Cellmark made in 1988 and 1989, when the lab identified two incorrect matches while testing 99 samples. The 1988 mistake, Blasier said, noted that there was a one in 1.8 billion chance that the blood belonged to another person.
"In these two years on the tests your lab took, you screwed up once every 50 times," Blasier said.
Blasier also sought to show the jury that DNA testing is only as good as the evidence. If the LAPD mishandled the collection and preservation of the evidence, then the test results would not matter. Cotton was also hit by Blasier for the astronomical numbers related to DNA evidence. The numbers are created using a mathematical equation, drawn from a sample size of 200 people. Of the 200-person sample, Blasier pointed out, only two of the people were African American.
Blasier's cross-examination was interrupted by Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki at one point because a juror appeared to be sleeping. "Mr. Blasier, this scintillating examination appears to be having an effect on the jurors," Judge Fujisaki said, calling for a ten-minute recess. After court reconvened, lead defense attorney Robert Baker asked for a sidebar conference. When it ended, Judge Fujisaki apologized to the jury for calling the examination, which he noted was important to the defense's case, scintillating. He also told the jurors to pay attention, not only because the evidence was important, but because all eyes in the courtroom were focused on them.
"If you feel like you concentrate better by closing your eyes, you might want to have some second thoughts about that because everybody's going to think you're dozing off," Judge Fujisaki said.
Simpson was not in court this morning. His custody trial is not in session today.
Robert Schmidt
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