Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau issued the following statement in reaction to the Appellate Division First Department’s decision upholding the use of genetic markers (DNA) to indict defendants in the People v. DAVID MARTINEZ:

 

“I am delighted that the Appellate Division has upheld our ability to indict a defendant based on his DNA profile.  This office was the first to indict a defendant as a John Doe based on a genetic profile and has aggressively used DNA science as a method to safeguard those prosecutions where the name of the perpetrator is unknown.

“Although law enforcement was successful in gaining the New York State Legislature’s support in eliminating the statute of limitations in the most serious sexual assaults, many pending indictments were obtained before the effective date of the law.  Moreover, the statute of limitations still exists for other  crimes and serious felonies, such as robbery and burglary.  The use of John Doe indictments for those crimes, often committed in conjunction with sex crimes, is now assured, thanks to the Appellate Division decision.

“To date, my office has obtained indictments in 39 cases naming John Does with their genetic profiles as defendants.  These indictments charge a variety of crimes, including rape, robbery and burglary.  This decision means that all prosecutors in New York State can now proceed to indict defendants based on genetic markers and know that the cases will be able to proceed to trial once the defendant has been arrested.”

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