DNA-testing

65 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6050 David Wood v. Rachel Patton, Assistant Attorney General of Texas Fifth Circuit 2025-11-06 Denied IFP criminal-appeals dna-testing due-process habeas-corpus judicial-review state-court Does the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' fifteen-year, twenty-three case unbroken string of denying DNA testing appeals create a plausible claim that…
25A305 Ernest Edward Gaines v. Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2025-09-17 Presumed Complete certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights dna-testing due-process habeas-corpus post-conviction-relief Whether a state prisoner can obtain federal habeas relief based on alleged due process violations during post-conviction DNA testing when the testing …
24-1268 Rodney Reed v. Bryan Goertz, in His Official Capacity as District Attorney of Bastrop County, Texas Fifth Circuit 2025-06-12 Pending Amici (1)Relisted (12) criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process evidence-law innocence-claim postconviction-relief Whether Article 64, as authoritatively construed by the CCA, violates due process by arbitrarily denying prisoners access to postconviction DNA testin…
24-6680 Victor Charles Rogers v. Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2025-02-28 Dismissed IFP actual-innocence constitutional-rights constructive-denial-of-counsel dna-testing due-process habeas-corpus Whether a court can deny a certificate of appealability (COA) when filing actual innocence claims and whether DNA evidence showing the petitioner is n…
24-6152 Josh Pompey v. Administrator, New Jersey State Prison, et al. Third Circuit 2024-12-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP dna-testing equitable-tolling false-confession habeas-corpus post-conviction-relief scientific-evidence Whether a petitioner is entitled to equitable tolling on a first federal habeas petition based on new favorable DNA results and whether new DNA eviden…
24-5493 Francisco Jose Lopez v. California California 2024-09-09 Denied IFP actual-innocence collateral-estoppel dna-testing due-process judicial-misconduct post-conviction-relief Did the doctrines of collateral and judicial estoppel bar the State from trying Petitioner for being the lone single shooter after convicting Andres R…
24-5470 Larry Jerome Grady v. Kevin White, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2024-09-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure dna-testing post-conviction-relief scientific-evidence statutory-interpretation Whether a state's post-conviction DNA testing statute unconstitutionally restricts a criminal defendant's ability to challenge a conviction through ne…
24-5346 In Re Jeremy Dewayne Foster 2024-08-20 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process exculpatory-evidence post-conviction-relief Whether a state's post-conviction DNA testing statute violates a criminal defendant's constitutional rights when it imposes procedural barriers to acc…
23-942 Sherman Campbell, Warden v. Stephen J. Kares Sixth Circuit 2024-02-28 Denied dna-testing federal-tolling habeas habeas-corpus judicial-reexamination judicial-review post-conviction-relief properly-filed state-postconviction-review statute-of-limitations Does Michigan's DNA testing statute toll the habeas limitations period?
23-6322 Ohio, ex rel. Ricardo Dodson v. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, et al. Ohio 2023-12-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP dna-testing due-process equal-protection fourteenth-amendment parole parole-hearing paternity paternity-determination rape Whether petitioner was denied his Fourteenth Amendment due process right to a fair parole hearing
23-6173 Akosua Aaebo Akhan v. Kwesi Akhan District of Columbia 2023-12-06 Denied IFP anti-stalking-order civil-rights dna-testing forced-agreement human-trafficking legal-standing necessity-defense power-of-attorney restitution standing Was Petitioner legally bound by the Anti-Stalking Order
23-6064 Anthony Kimbrough v. Oklahoma Oklahoma 2023-11-20 Denied Relisted (2)IFP actual-bias dna-testing due-process fourteenth-amendment material-false-testimony oklahoma-criminal-procedure post-conviction-dna-testing post-conviction-relief retroactive-application sixth-amendment whether-escobar-vs-texas-applies-retroactively
23-5549 Hope White v. Kentucky Kentucky 2023-09-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP actual-innocence dna-testing due-process forensic-evidence fourteenth-amendment post-conviction post-conviction-dna-testing procedural-due-process state-created-right Does barring a petitioner's access to biological and forensic evidence that can be submitted for DNA testing to prove innocence—when a state-created r…
23A216 Brett Kimberlin v. Department of Justice, et al. Seventh Circuit 2023-09-06 Presumed Complete civil-rights-action declaratory-relief DNA-testing heck-bar innocence-claim section-1983 Whether the Heck v. Humphrey bar to civil rights actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 applies when a plaintiff seeks declaratory relief and DNA testing to p…
23-5284 John Wesley Lee, Jr. v. Maryland Maryland 2023-08-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure discovery discovery-violation dna-evidence dna-testing due-process ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-misconduct pro-se-litigant video-recording Whether an Indigent Pro Se Petitioner is Entitled to counsel
22-7724 Juan Andrade-Moreno, aka Juan A. Moreno v. Isaac Kwarting, et al. Fifth Circuit 2023-06-07 Denied IFP actual-innocence ada-coverage civil-rights constitutional-rights disability dna-testing due-process fourteenth-amendment physical-injury post-conviction reasonable-accommodation standing Whether the petitioner's physical injury and resulting disability are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
22-7641 Carl Dean Wyatt, Jr. v. Steven Harpe, Director, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Tenth Circuit 2023-05-25 Denied IFP criminal-procedure discovery dna-testing due-process ineffective-assistance plea-bargaining post-conviction-relief prosecutorial-misconduct witness-testimony Is it proper for the prosecution to withhold the fact that a deal has been made with the witness for their testimony against a defendant
22-7615 Willie Jerome Manning v. Mississippi Mississippi 2023-05-23 Denied IFP criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process evidence evidence-testing habeas-corpus post-conviction post-conviction-relief state-court state-courts Whether a State may curtail a protected interest in DNA testing arbitrarily
22-6486 Atiq Weston v. Michael Capra, Superintendent, Sing Sing Correctional Facility Second Circuit 2023-01-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-claims constitutional-rights dna-testing due-process extraordinary-relief false-evidence false-testimony guilty-plea new-trial newly-discovered-evidence post-conviction Whether the post-conviction, due process violations exposed by false DNA testing on the petitioner's case warrant a new trial
21-7580 Amos Lamar Burch v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-04-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP actual-innocence civil-procedure civil-rights criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process fourteenth-amendment free-speech post-conviction-relief qualified-immunity standing Whether the district court erred in dismissing the petitioner's claims
21-7515 Paula Antonia Gordon v. Leslie Nelson Parker, et al. Louisiana 2022-03-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP bench-warrant child-custody contempt dna-testing due-process equal-protection family-court human-trafficking judicial-misconduct order-of-appeal Did the family court judge commit human-trafficking,violate-equal-protection,violate-due-process,find-grandmother-guilty-of-contempt,issue-bench-warra…
21-7446 Kristopher Kyle Russell v. Texas Texas 2022-03-24 Denied IFP criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process equal-protection judicial-discretion post-conviction-relief standing statutory-interpretation Whether the Texas courts' interpretation of the statute requiring appointment of counsel to determine if biological evidence exists violates due proce…
21-7037 Robert Breest v. New Hampshire New Hampshire 2022-02-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure dismissal dna-testing expert-testimony favorable-evidence forensic-evidence habeas-corpus new-hampshire retrial statutory-interpretation Whether the DNA tests were favorable under New Hampshire RSA 651-D-2, VI (b) and warrant dismissal of the charge
21-6262 Guadalupe Padilla v. Texas Texas 2021-11-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-review dna-mixture-analysis dna-testing due-process governmental-body governmental-immunity judicial-oversight post-conviction post-conviction-dna-testing statutory-requirements Is a non-profit corporation, acting as a governmental body to review criminal convictions involving the re-calculation, re-analysis and/or re-testing …
21-5976 Jude Joseph David Lovchik v. Virginia Virginia 2021-10-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-investigation criminal-procedure dna-evidence dna-testing expectation-of-privacy forensic-evidence fourth-amendment search-and-seizure search-warrant Whether the police were required to obtain a search warrant before submitting trash items to a forensic lab to extract DNA and create a DNA profile fo…
21-5756 Gettus Leroy Mintz v. Arizona Arizona 2021-09-22 Denied IFP civil-rights confrontation-clause criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process equal-protection false-testimony forensic-evidence grand-jury sixth-amendment witness-testimony Whether the State of Arizona violated the Petitioners' 5th and 14th Amendment rights to due process and equal protection when it used false testimony …
21-442 Rodney Reed v. Bryan Goertz Fifth Circuit 2021-09-22 Judgment Issued Amici (13)Relisted (8) 42-usc-1983 civil-rights dna-testing due-process postconviction-claim section-1983 state-court-litigation statute-of-limitations Whether the statute of limitations for a § 1983 claim seeking DNA testing of crime-scene evidence begins to run at the end of state-court litigation d…
21-5705 Lazaro Fernandez v. Jonathan W. Blodgett First Circuit 2021-09-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure dna-evidence dna-testing due-process exculpatory-evidence forensic-analysis post-conviction-relief saliva Whether it was error for the Court of Appeals to uphold the District Court in denying to order testing of the biology found at the crime scene, the al…
21-5424 Victor H. Canales v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2021-08-20 Denied IFP actual-innocence civil-procedure criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process evidence fourteenth-amendment judicial-proceedings legal-counsel post-conviction-relief standing Question not identified
21-5247 Wallace Hammerle v. Dylon Radtke, Warden Seventh Circuit 2021-07-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP change-of-venue constitutional-rights dna-testing due-process fair-trial ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel innocence judicial-review venue-change Question not identified
21-5083 Corbin J. Breitenbach v. Kansas Kansas 2021-07-12 Denied IFP appellate-review constitutional-law criminal-procedure discovery dna-testing due-process evidence habeas-corpus judicial-procedure Did the District Court abuse its discretion in denying Bieberlach's request for independent DNA testing?
20-8270 Maurice A. Jackson v. Kevin Ransom, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Dallas, et al. Third Circuit 2021-06-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP court-of-appeals criminal-procedure dna-testing evidence ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prejudice prejudice-standard standard-of-review trial-counsel witness-impeachment Did the third circuit court err in deferring to the Court of Common Pleas finding that Mr. Jackson was not prejudiced by trial counsel not having key …
20-8141 Paul Castonguay v. Nebraska Nebraska 2021-05-26 Dismissed Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP constitutional-rights dna-testing due-process federal-constitution fifth-amendment post-conviction-relief sexual-assault state-constitution statutory-rights Whether the state courts erred and abused their discretion by depriving and denying the defendant of his statutory rights to DNA testing
20-7769 James Hightower v. Ladonna H. Thompson, et al. Sixth Circuit 2021-04-15 Denied IFP actual-innocence civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights dna-testing due-process fourteenth-amendment free-speech post-conviction-relief standing takings Whether the Sixth Circuit's decision violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment
20-7397 William Randolph King v. Thomas Winn, Warden Sixth Circuit 2021-03-09 Denied IFP 8th-amendment brady-violation criminal-procedure dna-evidence dna-testing due-process eighth-amendment evidence-suppression prosecutorial-disclosure prosecutorial-misconduct Could reasonable jurists debate whether the prosecution committed a Brady violation when it failed to disclose the prior victim's pubic hair found dur…
20-48 Stacey Eugene Johnson v. Arkansas Arkansas 2020-07-20 Denied Relisted (5) access-to-courts actual-innocence criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process fifth-amendment first-amendment post-conviction-relief post-conviction-remedies Does the Arkansas DNA testing statute, as construed by the Arkansas Supreme Court, prevent Petitioner from meaningfully accessing the State's post-con…
19-8519 James E. Myers v. Nebraska Nebraska 2020-05-21 Denied IFP civil-rights confrontation-clause dna-testing due-process equal-protection habeas-corpus substantive-due-process writ-of-certiorari Whether Procedual Due Process, Substantive Due Process, Equal Protection, and Confrontational Clause have been violated
19-8429 Tariq Maqbool v. Marcus O. Hicks, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Corrections, et al. Third Circuit 2020-05-11 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance miranda-rights sixth-amendment Whether the denial of Petitioner's ineffective assistance claim violated constitutional rights
19-8407 Mauro Ramirez v. Florida Florida 2020-05-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process equal-protection evidence fair-trial forensic-evidence scientific-reliability Whether the State must establish the reliability and accuracy of the lab instrumentation used for electrophoresis and other preliminary DNA analyses b…
19-8323 William George Coodey v. Oklahoma Oklahoma 2020-04-21 Denied IFP consent criminal-procedure dna-evidence dna-testing due-process factual-innocence jackson-v-virginia rape sixth-amendment Whether DNA testing that would undermine an alleged rape victim's testimony denying consent to sexual intercourse would create sufficient uncertainty …
19-1190 Samuel H. Sloan v. Creighton W. Sloan, et al. South Carolina 2020-04-01 Denied adoption adoption-status asset-confiscation biological-son dna-testing due-process estate estate-distribution estate-inheritance familial-rights judicial-review probate-court probate-jurisdiction standing Must the courts reopen the case where the entire assets of the deceased have been confiscated by an unofficially adopted child, and must the estate be…
19-7946 Dirk Greineder v. Sean Medeiros, Superintendent, Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk First Circuit 2020-03-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP confrontation-clause dna-evidence dna-testing expert-testimony laboratory-analysis scientific-evidence sixth-amendment substitute-analyst substitute-analysts targeted-accusation Does the Confrontation Clause prohibit an expert prosecution witness from testifying at a jury trial to the results of DNA tests
19-7875 Byron Gay v. Scott Daffenbach, Warden, et al. Tenth Circuit 2020-03-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-procedure court-procedure dna-testing evidence evidentiary-rules judicial-admission judicial-admissions legal-standards scientific-evidence standards Question not identified.
19-7578 Ray Edward Barry v. Patrick Warren, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-02-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion binding-over brady-violation circuit-court criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process evidence-suppression fourth-amendment ineffective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-counsel lost-evidence prosecutorial-misconduct quash-information Did The District Court Abused Its Discretion In Binding Over To Circuit Court And The Circuit Court Erred In Refusing To Quash The Information?
19-922 Donnie Cleveland Lance v. Georgia Georgia 2020-01-23 Denied capital-punishment dna-testing due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection extraordinary-motion fourteenth-amendment innocence-claim new-trial Was petitioner denied due process and equal protection
19-6833 Gregory Alan Rowe v. Michael Clark, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Albion, et al. Third Circuit 2019-12-03 Denied Relisted (2)IFP aedpa aedpa-limitations dna-testing due-process equal-protection federal-habeas-corpus federal-rules-of-civil-procedure habeas-corpus post-conviction-dna-testing post-conviction-relief state-court-interpretation state-federal-conflict Whether a U.S. District Court and Court of Appeals are bound by a State Supreme Court's interpretation of its own post-conviction DNA testing statute …
19-6570 Ray Jefferson Cromartie v. Bradfield Shealy, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2019-11-12 Denied IFP 42-usc-1983 civil-procedure civil-rights criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process habeas-corpus procedural-history section-1983 standing state-statute stay-of-execution What standards should a district court apply in determining whether to grant relief on a claim under Skinner v. Switzer?
19-5912 Jesus Oscar Meraz Leon v. Charles L. Ryan, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-09-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP actual-innocence arizona-courts arizona-law civil-rights criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process equal-protection federal-review habeas-corpus post-conviction post-conviction-relief standing Whether the state courts' refusal to grant Leon's request for DNA testing because it violates his right to due process and equal protection of the law…
19-5802 Travis Wade Matthews v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2019-09-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review burden-of-proof civil-rights criminal-procedure dna-evidence dna-testing due-process identification jackson-standard jackson-v-virginia mccoy-v-louisiana victim-identification witness-identification whether-dna-testing-is-client-choice
19-5189 Michael Tyler v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-07-15 Denied IFP appeal civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure dna-testing due-process exculpatory-evidence guidelines liberty post-conviction-relief procedural-barriers sentencing standing statutory-interpretation takings Whether the Sentencing Court Erred in Calculating the Defendant's Sentencing Guidelines Range
18-9745 Marion Wilson, Jr. v. Georgia Georgia 2019-06-20 Denied IFP capital-case capital-punishment dna-testing due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection forensic-evidence procedural-issues procedural-safeguards Whether the state court's refusal to provide a hearing mandated by Georgia's DNA statute denied due process
18-9000 Johnnie Sterling, Jr. v. Ronda Pash, Warden Eighth Circuit 2019-04-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-1257 4th-amendment 5th-amendment 6th-amendment certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights dna-testing due-process post-conviction-relief skinner-v-switzer subject-matter-jurisdiction Should the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals have granted the Certificate of Appealability in case no. 18-2519, where no reasonable jurist…
18-8569 Melvin Bonnell v. Ohio Ohio 2019-03-26 Denied IFP appellate-review capital-punishment dna-evidence dna-testing due-process hearsay hearsay-evidence prosecutorial-misconduct Whether a trial court may deny a DNA application in a capital case based solely on the untested hearsay of the prosecuting attorney and in contraventi…
18-1193 Brandon Lee Moon v. County of El Paso, Texas, et al. Fifth Circuit 2019-03-14 Denied Response Waived absolute-immunity brady-violation circuit-split civil-rights constitutional-rights dna-testing due-process imbler-v-pachtman judicial-proceedings post-conviction post-conviction-DNA-testing prosecutorial-immunity prosecutorial-misconduct Prosecutorial misconduct in post-conviction DNA testing
18-7786 Roy Shotwell v. Kevin Genovese, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-02-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP 4th-amendment 5th-amendment civil-rights criminal-procedure critical-stage dna-analysis dna-evidence dna-testing due-process effective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel procedural-due-process prosecutorial-misconduct sixth-amendment standing warrantless-seizure Whether the Tennessee courts abused their discretion in denying Petitioner's DNA and post-conviction relief
18-7757 William Davenport v. James Falk, Warden, et al. Tenth Circuit 2019-02-04 Denied IFP criminal-procedure dna dna-evidence dna-testing due-process evidence fair-trial ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel res-gestae witness-identification Whether trial court erred in admitting evidence of DNA testing from mixed samples
18-7373 Warren Ray Patton v. Texas Texas 2019-01-11 Denied IFP actual-innocence counsel-appointment dna-testing due-process habeas-corpus liberty-interest postconviction-proceedings postconviction-relief Whether the State's substantive procedures for obtaining appointment of counsel and DNA testing in postconviction proceedings create a protected due p…
18-619 Gamada A. Hussein v. Matthew G. Whitaker, Acting Attorney General, et al. Eighth Circuit 2018-11-14 Denied Response Waived bodily-integrity civil-rights dna-testing due-process faith-based-discrimination false-imprisonment fourth-amendment fourth-amendment,false-imprisonment,due-process,wa sovereign-immunity surveillance warrantless-monitoring Whether implanting chips in Petitioner's body and monitoring the Petitioner and Petitioner's family life activities for a decade without warrant and d…
18-6673 Tracy Lebron Vick v. Tennessee Tennessee 2018-11-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP dna-testing due-process equal-protection fourteenth-amendment plea-bargaining post-conviction post-conviction-review wrongful-conviction Whether Tennessee's refusal to extend DNA post-conviction protections to those who pled guilty violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth …
18-6438 Oscar Kenneth Moreno v. Alana Butler California 2018-10-26 Denied IFP confrontation-clause dna-evidence dna-testing due-process expert-testimony fourteenth-amendment remand scientific-evidence sentencing sixth-amendment Whether the petitioner's Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to confront and cross-examine his accusers were violated
18-6419 William L. Whipple v. Florida Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-24 Denied IFP actual-innocence brady-violation civil-rights dna-testing due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prosecutorial-misconduct skinner-v-switzer Whether additional DNA testing was wrongfully denied to demonstrate innocence (actual innocence exception) pursuant to the holding in Skinner v. Switz…
18-5312 Gregory Alan Rowe v. Michael Clark, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Albion, et al. Third Circuit 2018-07-24 Denied IFP aedpa-limitations aedpa-tolling circuit-court-split circuit-split dna-testing due-process equal-protection equitable-tolling federal-habeas-review finality habeas-corpus post-conviction-dna post-conviction-dna-testing post-conviction-review statutory-tolling Does a properly filed application for post-conviction DNA testing toll AEDPA's limitation period under 28 U.S.C. §2244(d)(2)?
18-5252 Ricky Lee Earp v. Ron Davis, Warden Ninth Circuit 2018-07-17 Denied IFP credibility-of-prosecution discovery discovery-rights dna-testing due-process federal-court-proceedings federal-habeas habeas-corpus prosecutorial-misconduct spoliation-of-evidence Whether a petitioner can be denied discovery necessary to learn the circumstances of the government's spoliation of potentially exculpatory evidence i…
18A1345 Marion Wilson, Jr. v. Georgia Georgia Presumed Complete clemency constitutional-rights death-penalty dna-testing execution-stay forensic-evidence Whether a death row inmate has a constitutional right to forensic DNA testing of critical evidence that could potentially demonstrate his ineligibilit…
23A1160 Ruben Gutierrez v. Luis Saenz, et al. Fifth Circuit Presumed Complete article-iii-standing death-penalty dna-testing due-process habeas-corpus post-conviction-relief Whether a death-row prisoner has Article III standing to challenge state procedures that improperly limit access to post-conviction DNA testing under …