State v. Hammond

In State v. Hammond, 221 Conn. 264, 293-94, 604 A.2d 793 (1992), the trial court denied a postverdict motion for DNA profiling and blood testing of vaginal swabs and smears that were taken from a sexual assault victim on the grounds that the results would be cumulative because there already had been extensive tests performed of samples taken from the victim's clothing. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court for a determination of whether the posttrial discovery request as to the vaginal swabs of the victim should be granted in light of the Supreme Court's determinations on appeal. Id., 295. The state had argued that the defendant made a tactical choice not to have the samples tested prior to the verdict. The Court stated that "this argument presupposes that it reasonably appeared during the trial that the samples were testable, and raises the inference that the state also made a tactical choice not to have the samples tested prior to the verdict. Such a tactical choice would plainly have been a breach of the prosecutor's ethical duty to pursue relevant evidence even if it may be exculpatory." Id., 291-92.