A convicted burglar’s constitutional right to confront witnesses was not violated by a criminalist who testified at trial about DNA tests performed by other analysts, a Manhattan appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling in People v. Rodriguez, 5471/09, centered on whether defendant William Rodriguez’s rights were violated when prosecutors introduced DNA-testing lab reports linking him to the crime. Melissa Huyck of the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner testified about the reports but was not among the analysts who performed, witnessed or supervised the testing.
