State of Texas v. Swearingen, Larry Ray ( 2015 )

AP-77,043
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Transmitted 11/12/2015 9:27:50 PM
November 13, 2015 Accepted 11/13/2015 8:05:46 AM
ABEL ACOSTA
CLERK
NO. AP-77,043
IN THE TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
AT AUSTIN, TEXAS
__________________________________________________________________
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellant,
v.
LARRY RAY SWEARINGEN,
Appellee.
__________________________________________________________________
Arising from:
Cause No. 99-11-06435-CR
IN THE DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TEXAS
__________________________________________________________________
APPELLEE LARRY RAY SWEARINGEN'S MOTION FOR REHEARING
__________________________________________________________________
BRYCE BENJET
Tex. Bar. No. 24006829
The Innocence Project
Attorney at Law
40 Worth Street, Suite 701
New York, New York 10013
JAMES G. RYTTING
Philip Hilder
Hilder & Associates, P.C.
819 Lovett Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77006
Counsel for Appellee
ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED
IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL
District Attorney: BRETT W. LIGON
District Attorney
Montgomery County, Texas
207 W. Phillips, Second Floor
Conroe, Texas 77301
Counsel for the State: WILLIAM J. DELMORE III
Assistant District Attorney
Montgomery County, Texas
207 W. Phillips, Second Floor
Conroe, Texas 77301
Appellee: LARRY RAY SWEARINGEN
Counsel for Appellee: JAMES G. RYTTING
Hilder & Associates, P.C.
819 Lovett Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77006
BRYCE BENJET
Tex. Bar. No. 24006829
The Innocence Project
40 Worth Street, Suite 701
New York, New York 10013
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ................................................................................... iii
STATEMENT OF THE CASE .................................................................................. 1
ARGUMENT ............................................................................................................. 3
I. Reliance on "Overwhelming" Evidence Ignores the Realities of DNA
Testing in Criminal Cases................................................................................ 3
II. The Court's Restrictive Standard for Considering Possible
Exculpatory Results Is Inconsistent with Prior Decisions and Does
Not Reflect Legislative Intent.......................................................................... 6
III. No Other Jurisdiction Similarly Restricts Access to Postconviction
DNA Testing. ................................................................................................. 10
IV. The Majority's Restrictive Definition of Exculpatory Results Will Bar
Access to Postconviction DNA Testing in All But a Narrow Category
of Cases. ......................................................................................................... 12
V. Applying the Proper Construction of Exclusionary DNA Test Results,
DNA Testing Is Warranted in this Case. ....................................................... 16
CONCLUSION AND PRAYER ............................................................................. 19
ii
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES
Ex parte Arledge,
No. AP-76974, 2013 WL 831138 (Tex. Crim. App. Mar. 6, 2013) .............. 15
Ex parte Arledge,
No. 21693, 2013 WL 11028491 (Tex. Crim. App. Feb. 11, 2013) ............... 15
Blacklock v. State,
235 S.W.3d 231 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) .................................................... 6, 7
Brady v. Maryland,
373 U.S. 83 (1963)..................................................................................... 9, 10
Commonwealth v. Conway,
14 A.3d 101 (Pa. 2011) .................................................................................. 11
Ex parte Criner,
No. 36,856-01 (Tex. Crim. App. July 8, 1998) ........................................... 3, 5
Ex parte Criner,
No. 87-09-00591-CR-(1) (410th Dist. Ct., Montgomery County, Tex.,
July 28, 2000) ............................................................................................ 3, 18
Ex parte Criner,
No. 87-09-00591-CR-(1) (410th Dist. Ct., Montgomery County, Tex.,
Aug. 15, 2000) ............................................................................................. 3, 4
District Attorney's Office for Third Judicial District v. Osborne,
557 U.S. 52 (2009)........................................................................................... 5
Hard. v. Commonwealth,
396 S.W.3d 909 (Ky. 2013) ........................................................................... 11
House v. Bell,
547 U.S. 518 (2006)....................................................................................... 10
Ex parte Miles,
359 S.W.3d 647 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) .................................................. 9, 10
iii
In re Morton,
326 S.W.3d 634 (Tex. App.–Austin 2010, no pet.) .................................14, 15
Md. v. King,
133 S. Ct. 1958 (2013)...................................................................................... 5
New Jersey v. DeMarco,
904 A.2d 797 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2006) ............................................ 11
Ohio v. Noling,
992 N.E.2d 1095 (Ohio 2013) ....................................................................... 11
Pena v. State,
353 S.W.3d 797 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) ........................................................ 9
Pope v. State,
756 S.W.2d 401 (Tex. App.–Dallas 1988, pet. ref'd) .................................. 4, 5
Powers v. Tennessee,
343 S.W.3d 36 (Tenn. 2011) ...................................................................11, 12
Ex parte Pruett,
No. B-01-M015-PR-B (156th Dist. Ct., Bee County, Tex., Apr. 28,
2015) ............................................................................................................ 8, 9
Raby v. State,
No. AP-74,930, 2005 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 2194 (Tex. Crim. App.
June 29, 2005) ....................................................................................7, 8, 9, 14
Robinson v. State,
No. C14-87-00345-CR, 1989 WL 102335 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th
Dist.] Sept. 7, 1989, pet. ref'd) ..................................................................... 4, 5
Routier v. State,
273 S.W.3d 241 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) ................................................7, 8, 9
State v. Butler,
21 A.3d 583 (Conn. App. Ct. 2011) .............................................................. 11
State v. Swearingen,
Nos. AP–77,043, AP–77,044, 2015 WL 6513883 (Tex. Crim. App.
Oct. 28, 2015) .........................................................................................passim
iv
State v. Swearingen,
424 S.W.3d 32 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) ........................................................ 18
Swearingen v. State,
101 S.W.3d 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) ..................................................16, 17
United States v. Sczubelek,
402 F.3d 175 (3d Cir. 2006) ............................................................................ 6
STATUTES
Act of June 17, 2011, 82d Leg., R.S., ch. 278, §§ 5, 6, 2011 Tex. Sess. Law
Serv. 883 (West) .............................................................................................. 8
Act of June 17, 2011, 82d Leg., R.S., ch. 366, §§ 1, 2, 3, 2011 Tex. Sess.
Law Serv. 1016 (West) ................................................................................ 8, 9
Act of May 16, 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., ch. 49, 2013 Tex. Gen. Laws 106
(West)............................................................................................................. 16
Act of May 22, 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., ch. 70, §§ 1, 2, 2015 Tex. Sess. Law
Serv. (West) ..................................................................................................... 9
Miss. Code Ann. § 99-39-11(10) (West Supp. 2014) .............................................. 11
N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 440.30(1-a)(c) (McKinney Supp. 2015)........................... 11
S.J. of Tex., 80th Leg., R.S. 300 (2007) (Senate Resolution 341) ............................ 4
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.43(i) (West Supp. 2015) ................................... 9
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 64.03(a)(2)(A) (West Supp. 2015) ...............passim
OTHER AUTHORITIES
Committee on Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Sciences Community,
National Research Council, Strengthening Forensic Science in the
United States: A Path Forward 175-76 (2009), available at
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/228091.pdf ................................ 17
Exonerated: Cases by the numbers, CNN, http://
www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/justice/prisoner-exonerations-facts-
innocence-project/ (last visited Nov. 11, 2015)............................................. 10
v
Jessica Hamel & Ryan Murphy, Search: Pardons by Gov. Rick Perry, Texas
Tribune (Aug. 6, 2014),
http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/search-texas-governor-rick-
perry-pardons/ .................................................................................................. 4
Rhonda Williams, PhD & Roger Kahn, PhD, Forensic DNA Collection at
Death Scenes: A Pictorial Guide 1 (2014) ................................................ 5, 13
Terry Melton, Motochondiral DNA Examination of Cold Case Crime Scene
Hairs, Forensic Magazine (April 1, 2009)
(http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2009/04/mitochondrial-dna-
examination-cold-case-crime-scene-hairs) .................................................... 13
vi
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellee Larry Ray Swearingen has sought postconviction DNA testing for
over a decade to prove his innocence of the capital murder of Mellissa Trotter. A
Majority of this Court now reverses the judgment of the court of conviction which
granted DNA testing on probative physical evidence that would unquestionably
have been tested if Ms. Trotter's murder were investigated today. While Appellee
disagrees with the Majority for many of the same reasons discussed in the
dissenting opinions, this Motion for Rehearing focuses on the controlling issue of
the Majority's erroneous construction of the statutory consideration of potential
"exculpatory results" of DNA testing. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann.
art. 64.03(a)(2)(A) (West Supp. 2015).
The Majority Opinion bars a trial judge from considering the known fact that
DNA testing can identify with certainty a person whose biological material is
present on the victim and at the crime scene. See Majority Opinion, 2015 WL
6513883, at *4–5 (attached as Exhibit A). Disregarding this central strength of
DNA technology, the Majority confines the universe of potential exculpatory
results considered in determining the impact of DNA testing to the mere exclusion
of the convicted person as the source of biological evidence. See id. If this
artificial and arbitrary definition stands, it will eliminate the broad access to DNA
1
testing that has been the centerpiece of recent criminal justice reforms which place
Texas at the forefront of jurisdictions confronting wrongful convictions.
By rejecting the very assumptions used every day in the course of forensic
criminal investigation, the Majority's standard will prevent access to DNA testing
in large categories of cases where the right to such testing should be
uncontroversial and where this Court has recognized that such testing proved
innocence by clear and convincing evidence. Because this is not what our
Legislature intended, this Court should grant rehearing to consider the case under a
standard consistent with the intent of Chapter 64 of the Texas Code of Criminal
Procedure, reflecting the now universal norm of broad access to postconviction
DNA testing.
2
ARGUMENT
I. Reliance on "Overwhelming" Evidence Ignores the Realities of DNA
Testing in Criminal Cases.
Although the Majority's reliance on "overwhelming" evidence of guilt (or its
description of a "mountain of inculpatory evidence") has a certain rhetorical
appeal, Majority Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *3–4 & n.17 (citations omitted),
this characterization describes almost every criminal conviction. Proof of guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt is a prerequisite for criminal convictions, leaving few
(if any) in which a judge might not reasonably consider the inculpatory evidence
"overwhelming." And one need not leave Montgomery County to learn that a
finding of "overwhelming" evidence of guilt has not proven to be an accurate
predictor of the results of a DNA test. In the similar murder case of Roy Criner,
this Court denied habeas relief citing overwhelming direct evidence of his guilt.
But Mr. Criner was later pardoned after additional DNA testing showed he was not
the murderer. See Ex parte Criner, No. 36,856-01, at 1 (Tex. Crim. App. July 8,
1998) (discounting impact of DNA exclusion from semen in murder victim, citing
"overwhelming" direct evidence of guilt); Ex parte Criner, No. 87-09-00591-CR-
(1) (410th Dist. Ct., Montgomery County, Tex., July 28, 2000), available at
http://www.mctx.org/courts/410th_district_court/docs/criner1.pdf (recommending
a full and complete pardon for Roy Criner after DNA from semen matched DNA
from cigarette butt); Ex parte Criner, No. 87-09-00591-CR-(1) (410th Dist. Ct.,
3
Montgomery County, Tex., Aug. 15, 2000), available at http://www.mctx.org/
courts/410th_district_court/docs/criner.pdf (releasing Criner with an apology).
Texas courts have likewise found "overwhelming" evidence of guilt in the
cases of David Pope and Anthony Robinson even though DNA testing later proved
them innocent. David Pope was pardoned for innocence despite a prior finding
that the admission of "voiceprint" technology was harmless in light of the
"overwhelming evidence" of guilt. See Pope v. State, 756 S.W.2d 401, 403–04
(Tex. App.—Dallas 1988, pet. ref'd) ("overwhelming evidence against appellant"
included eyewitness identification and defendant's possession of knife and clothing
matching victim's description); Jessica Hamel & Ryan Murphy, Search: Pardons
by Gov. Rick Perry, Tex. Trib. (Aug. 6, 2014), http://www.texastribune.org/library/
data/search-texas-governor-rick-perry-pardons/ (pardon for innocence granted to
David Pope). Anthony Robinson was pardoned based on DNA evidence despite a
prior finding that errors at his trial were harmless in light of "overwhelming
evidence of appellant's guilt" including the victim's identification made within 15
minutes of her reporting the assault and Robinson's possession of a loaded gun at
the time of his arrest. See Robinson v. State, No. C14-87-00345-CR, 1989 WL
102335, at *1, *7 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Sept. 7, 1989, pet. ref'd); S.J.
of Tex., 80th Leg., R.S. 300, 300–01 (2007) (Senate Resolution acknowledging
Robinson's pardon based on DNA evidence).
4
As demonstrated by the outcomes in Criner, Pope, and Robinson, the
Majority's citation to "overwhelming" evidence ignores the exceptional power of
DNA testing in the forensic context to overcome such evidence, not simply by
excluding a suspect, but also by identifying the actual source of the DNA. See
Dist. Attorney's Office for Third Judicial Dist. v. Osborne, 557 U.S. 52, 55 (2009)
("DNA testing has an unparalleled ability both to exonerate the wrongly convicted
and to identify the guilty."). In fact, a recently published best practices guide by
Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS) lab director Dr. Roger Kahn
and HCIFS's DNA Trace Evidence Collection team leader Dr. Rhonda Williams on
the collection of forensic DNA evidence also emphasizes the role of DNA
databases as a central component of modern forensic DNA testing. See Rhonda
Williams, PhD & Roger Kahn, PhD, Forensic DNA Collection at Death Scenes: A
Pictorial Guide 1 (2014) (HCIFS expanded evidence it routinely tests because
"touched objects often provided full or nearly full DNA profiles that matched an
offender in CODIS," resulting in HCIFS leading the State in "the total number of
CODIS offender matches") (attached as Exhibit B). Federal courts have also cited
the importance of using DNA databases in the postconviction context. See
Maryland v. King, 133 S. Ct. 1958, 1974 (2013) (identification of arrestee "as
perpetrator of some heinous crime may have the salutary effect of freeing a person
5
wrongfully imprisoned for the same offense"); United States v. Sczubelek, 402 F.3d
175, 1985 (3rd Cir. 2006).
Based on the universal understanding of how forensic DNA testing works,
any accurate assessment of the potential exculpatory results from such testing must
include consideration of the following potential results:
• Finding no DNA;
• Detecting an unknown DNA profile on a single piece of evidence;
• Detecting the same (or different) DNA profiles on multiple pieces of
evidence across a crime scene; and
• Identifying the source of foreign DNA profile detected on single or multiple
samples either by one-to-one comparison to a known suspect or through a
match from a CODIS database search.
By contrast, the standard articulated by the Majority places blinders on Texas
judges and denies courts the ability to consider the most persuasive category of
proof of innocence—the identification of a guilty third party. This drastically
increases the risk of wrongful imprisonment and execution.
II. The Court's Restrictive Standard for Considering Possible Exculpatory
Results Is Inconsistent with Prior Decisions and Does Not Reflect
Legislative Intent.
This Court's jurisprudence on the definition of "exculpatory results" is
unsettled and has led to inconsistent applications of the Chapter 64 gateway to
postconviction DNA testing. The Majority's limited definition of "exculpatory
results" was adopted from the Court's 2007 holding in Blacklock v. State, in which
6
the Court granted DNA testing based on Blacklock's 2005 motion contending that
his exclusion from DNA on a rape kit would prove innocence. See 235 S.W.3d
231, 232 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007). Although the question of a one-to-one
comparison or CODIS search was not before the Court, the Majority has seized on
the language in Blacklock to prohibit any "speculation" beyond the mere exclusion
of the convicted person, Majority Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *3–4 & n.13.
The Majority defends its restrictive standard by claiming that the Legislature did
not intend a low threshold for access to DNA testing. Id. at 10, n.17.
But this Court's prior decisions and the Legislature's consistent broadening
of access to DNA testing under Chapter 64 contradicts the Majority's analysis.
This Court has previously engaged in a more robust analysis of the potential
"exculpatory results" under Chapter 64 that more closely resembles the actual use
of forensic DNA testing in criminal investigation. In Routier v. State, 273 S.W.3d
241 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008), this Court held that the analysis of exculpatory DNA
results includes both (1) excluding the convicted person and (2) identifying a
consistent DNA profile on multiple items of evidence.
Similarly, Judge Johnson's majority opinion in Raby v. State, No. AP-
74,930, 2005 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 2194 (Tex. Crim. App. June 29, 2005)
(unpublished) reversed the trial court's denial of DNA testing, factoring in the
potential for comparison of a DNA profile to known suspects as part of the
7
exculpatory results analysis. See id. at *21 ("There are a maximum of four items to
be tested and few suspects for comparison."). The Majority's statutory
construction is also at odds with a recent order by Judge Richardson (sitting by
assignment as trial judge) granting DNA testing on tape collected from the handle
of a shank used in a prison murder. See Ex parte Pruett, No. B-01-M015-PR-B
(156th Dist. Ct., Bee County, Tex., Apr. 28, 2015). Although Judge Richardson's
reasoning is not provided in that order, it is hard to contemplate how the mere
exclusion of Pruett from the handle of a prison shank (the limit of the Court's
analysis under the Majority Opinion in this case) would prove innocence without
consideration of the same appropriate and reasonable "speculation" utilized in
Routier and Raby, e.g., that potential innocent contributors of DNA would be
excluded and the source of any foreign DNA detected would be identified.
Since Routier, Chapter 64 was amended to expand access to DNA testing by
broadening the definition of "biological material," requiring that DNA profiles be
compared to DNA databases1 and most recently by lowering the standard of proof
for the existence of biological material on evidence to be tested. See Act of June
17, 2011, 82d Leg., R.S., ch. 278, §§ 5, 6, 2011 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 883, 885
(West) (to be codified at Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 64.01, 64.035); Act of
1
The express requirement of a database search on DNA profiles generated under Chapter 64 is
clear evidence of legislative intent for the same database search to be considered under article
64.03(a)(2)(A).
8
June 17, 2011, 82d Leg., R.S., ch. 366, §§ 1, 2, 3, 2011 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 1016,
1016–17 (West) (to be codified at Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 64.01, 64.035,
64.04); Act of May 22, 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., ch. 70, §§ 1, 2, 2015 Tex. Sess. Law
Serv. (West) (to be codified at Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 64.01(a-1),
64.03(a)). The Legislature's intent for broad access to DNA testing in criminal
cases can also be inferred by the addition of Article 38.43(i) to the Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure which imposes a mandatory requirement that all biological
evidence be tested before the jury is empaneled in any capital case. See Tex. Code
Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.43(i) (West Supp. 2015) The Majority's restrictive
approach runs counter to this clear Legislative intent and is inconsistent with the
application of Chapter 64 in Routier, Raby, and Pruett.
Further, this Court's treatment of the term "exculpatory" in other contexts
also warrants a broad interpretation in the DNA testing context. "Exculpatory"
was well-defined back in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87–88 (1963), and is
generally understood as anything favorable to the defendant. See Pena v. State,
353 S.W.3d 797, 811–12 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). Further, the definition of
exculpatory evidence includes both the new information as well as the natural
consequences of the new information coming to light. See Ex parte Miles, 359
S.W.3d 647, 666–67 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (explaining that police reports
9
identifying alternative suspects were "exculpatory" under Brady because their
disclosure "could have led to further investigation of other suspects and theories").
Evidence pointing to a specific third-party's guilt is a classic example of
exculpatory evidence under Brady and is arguably the most persuasive type of
evidence of innocence. See Ex parte Miles, 359 S.W.3d 647, 666–67 (Tex. Crim.
App. 2012); House v. Bell, 547 U.S. 518, 548 (2006) (evidence undermining
State's case against House would not have proved innocence without other
evidence pointing to a different suspect). Indeed, an alternative suspect is
identified in nearly 50% of all DNA exonerations. See Exonerated: Cases by the
numbers, CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/ justice/prisoner-exonerations-
facts-innocence-project/ (last visited Nov. 11, 2015). Where the statute requires
that hypothetical "exculpatory results" meet the extraordinarily high burden of
proof of probable innocence, the Majority Opinion will deprive convicted persons
of arguably the most powerful category of evidence accepted by courts to make
this showing.
III. No Other Jurisdiction Similarly Restricts Access to Postconviction DNA
Testing.
Just as Texas courts have done in the Brady context, jurisdictions across the
nation have defined potential exculpatory DNA results as the exclusion of the
defendant from the DNA profile obtained and all realistic possibilities that flow
10
from such exclusion. Tennessee courts, for example, have construed a Chapter 64
equivalent to allow for consideration of all "realistically possible" exculpatory
results:
"'[T]he trial court should postulate whatever realistically possible test
results would be most favorable to [the] defendant in determining
whether he has established'" the statutory reasonable probability
requirement.
Powers v. Tennessee, 343 S.W.3d 36, 55 (Tenn. 2011) (second alteration in
original) (quoting New Jersey v. Peterson, 836 A.2d 821, 827 (N.J. Super. Ct. App.
Div. 2003)). Reflecting the reality of DNA testing, a plethora of jurisdictions
expressly require consideration of potential DNA results identifying a known
suspect through a CODIS database search, when weighing a post-convition DNA
motion. See, e.g., Powers, 343 S.W.3d at 58 (most favorable result would be
match of DNA profile to prior offender in DNA database); Hardin v.
Commonwealth, 396 S.W.3d 909, 915 (Ky. 2013) (non-statutory postconviction
DNA motion); Ohio v. Noling, 992 N.E.2d 1095, 1105 (Ohio 2013); State v.
Butler, 21 A.3d 583, 588 (Conn. App. Ct. 2011); Commonwealth v. Conway, 14
A.3d 101, 114 (Pa. 2011); New Jersey v. DeMarco, 904 A.2d 797, 807 (N.J. Super.
Ct. App. Div. 2006); see also Miss. Code Ann. § 99-39-11(10) (West Supp. 2014);
N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 440.30(1-a)(c) (McKinney Supp. 2015).
As the Tennessee Supreme Court explained,
11
"data bank comparative analysis [is used] in the investigation of
crimes" and . . . "nationwide there are a multitude of reported cases in
which law enforcement agencies have used data bank information to
solve crimes where the identification of the perpetrator was in
question."
Powers, 343 S.W.3d at 58 (quoting Conway, 14 A.3d at 113 n.14 (alteration in
original)).2
IV. The Majority's Restrictive Definition of Exculpatory Results Will Bar
Access to Postconviction DNA Testing in All But a Narrow Category of
Cases.
By dismissing as too "speculative" any potential DNA result beyond the
exclusion of the convicted person, the Majority eliminates the routine speculation
inherent in virtually any assessment of DNA results. See Majority Opinion, 2015
WL 6513883, at *4. The dramatic barrier to access to DNA testing erected by the
Majority is evident even in cases where such testing is widely recognized to be
essential.
For example, the Majority's construction of Article 64.03(a)(2)(A) would
produce the absurd result of barring access to DNA testing of rape kits in single-
perpetrator rape cases involving an adult woman. This is because excluding the
convicted person from DNA found in sperm, without more, would establish only
that the victim had sexual intercourse with someone within a few days before the
2
Although not every state court has considered this issue, our research has not uncovered a
single jurisdiction imposing similar limitations on the exculpatory nature of DNA results to
be considered in determining access to postconviction DNA testing.
12
crime. See Majority Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *3 n.13. Additional
speculation (which the Majority prohibits) is required for the Court to assume that
any consensual sexual partner of the victim can be identified, a DNA sample from
such person could be obtained, and DNA testing would exclude that person from
the sample. Thus, even when considering the gold standard of DNA evidence—
intimate samples from rape cases—the Majority would allow postconviction
testing only where the trial record establishes that the victim was not sexually
active.
The Majority's construction will also prevent access to postconviction DNA
testing in the vast majority of trace evidence cases. Take, for example, a case
involving a request to test hairs collected from a murder victim's clothing or skin
cells from a murder weapon. Because humans shed 75–100 hairs each day3 and
skin cells are transferred even when we casually touch objects,4 excluding a
convicted person from these highly probative items of physical evidence alone
likely cannot meet the burden of proof under Article 64.03(a)(2)(A). For DNA
evidence to prove innocence in this context, a trial judge must speculate that the
DNA profile obtained also excludes those persons such as family members,
3
Terry Melton, Motochondiral DNA Examination of Cold Case Crime Scene Hairs, Forensic
Magazine (April 1, 2009) (http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2009/04/mitochondrial-dna-
examination-cold-case-crime-scene-hairs).
4
Williams & Kahn at 85 (epithelial cells deposited when assailant grabs or rubs clothing).
13
friends, or coworkers whose hair or skin cells could have been innocently
transferred to the victim. Cf. Majority Op. at 8 n.13 (speculating that there are
innocent ways foreign DNA can be found on victim); but see Raby, 2005 Tex.
Crim. App. LEXIS 2194, at *18–21.
The striking barrier to DNA testing created by the Majority is best shown in
the case of Michael Morton, who was exonerated by this Court based on
exculpatory DNA testing of a bandana found 100 yards away from the crime
scene. See In re Morton, 326 S.W.3d 634, 638–39 (Tex. App.–Austin 2010, no
pet.). There was no obvious link between the bandana and the crime, and merely
excluding Morton from unidentified DNA profiles on the bandana would have
proven nothing. Instead, Morton argued that "DNA testing of the bandana would
be exculpatory in the event that the bandana contains [the victim]'s blood, a third
party's DNA (due to blood sweat or hair), and none of appellant's DNA." Id. at
641. The Third Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's denial of DNA testing,
holding that exculpatory results could include the identification of the victim's
blood and the DNA of someone other than the defendant. See id. at 644, 647–48.
In fact, the DNA testing proved more than this: the bandana contained both
the victim's blood and that of a database match with felon Mark Norwood. This
testing led not only to Norwood's conviction for the murder of Christine Morton,
but also to Norwood's indictment for a similar murder in Travis County. Had the
14
Majority's restrictive definition of "exculpatory results" under Article
64.03(a)(2)(A) been utilized, the court would have refused to "speculate" that the
blood on the bandana would be associated with the victim, Morton would have
remained wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his own wife, and Norwood
would have evaded justice for two murders.
The Majority's focus only on DNA exclusions would also have prevented
the exoneration of Randy Arledge. Specifically, postconviction DNA testing
revealed that Mr. Arledge was excluded biological material in the victim's car and
on her body. A database hit then linked the biology to a felon who committed a
similar stabbing and admitted being in the area where the crime was committed.
See Ex parte Arledge, No. AP-76974, 2013 WL 831138, at *1 (Tex. Crim. App.
Mar. 6, 2013) (adopting the trial court findings and holding that Arledge was
factually innocent). Memorandum, Ex parte Arledge, No. 21693, 2013 WL
11028491, at *2, *4–6 (Dist. Ct. Navarro County, Tex. February 11, 2013).
Arledge could never have proven his innocence based only on the mere presence of
unidentified DNA, and under the Majority's analysis, should have been denied
testing. The Morton and Arledge cases are but two examples of how the Majority's
artificially narrow definition of exculpatory DNA results will almost always fail to
15
"factually exclude" the defendant, see Majority Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *3
& n.13—thus vitiating the entire purpose of Chapter 64.5
V. Applying the Proper Construction of Exclusionary DNA Test Results,
DNA Testing Is Warranted in this Case.
The Majority concedes that, but for its restrictive definition of "exculpatory
results", Mr. Swearingen would be entitled to DNA testing. See Majority
Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *4 n.17 ("Such compelling DNA results would
certainly overcome any mountain of inculpatory evidence.").
Indeed, under the proper standard for exculpatory results, the requested
DNA testing outweighs the circumstantial "mountain"6 of evidence. The discovery
5
After Morton was exonerated through postconviction DNA testing, the Legislature passed the "Michael
Morton Act" devoted to remedying the causes of wrongful convictions. See Act of May 16, 2013,
83rd Leg., R.S., ch. 49, 2013 Tex. Gen. Laws 106 (West). It is not plausible that the same legislative
body would have intended to restrict access to postconviction DNA testing in a manner that would
have denied Morton the DNA testing that proved his innocence.
6
The purported "mountain of evidence" relied upon by the Majority misstates and/or omits critical
evidence such as:
 The finding that "hair and fiber evidence, as well as other physical evidence, showed that Melissa
had been in [Swearingen's] car and his home on the day of her disappearance" is inaccurate. Hair
found in Mr. Swearingen's bed was not Ms. Trotter's, Swearingen v. State, 101 S.W.3d 89, 106
(Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (Johnson, J., dissenting).
 Contrary to the notion that Mr. Swearingen's wife observed "Melissa's cigarettes and lighter in
[Swearingen's] house that evening," Majority Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *1, DNA testing on
the cigarette butt and on hair adhering to the Marlboro pack found at the home excluded Ms.
Trotter (30 TR. at 136), and Mr. Swearingen's wife conceded that she smoked. (29 TR 179).
 The "discovery" of Ms. Trotter's papers near Mr. Swearingen's house, see Majority Opinion, 2015
WL 6513883, at *2, is problematic. A neighbor allegedly found these papers when retrieving a
trashcan nearly a week after Mr. Swearingen was jailed. Two trash days had intervened, but on
neither occasion did the neighbor see the 100 yard-long paper trail. (28 TR. at 134–41.).
(cont'd)
16
of matching DNA profiles on any (or all) of the evidence raised in this Case,
including the rape kit, and untested fingernail scrapings and the existing foreign
male profile found in Ms. Trotter's fingernails scrapings constitutes powerful
evidence that this individual—not Mr. Swearingen—strangled (and raped,7 if the
rape kit results are included) the victim. And it is further undeniable that DNA
technology has the proven capacity to actually identify the person whose DNA is
found.
While courts have refused testing in circumstances where the testing would
be thought merely to reveal the presence of an accomplice, the trial record does not
reflect any evidence of an accomplice. See Swearingen v. State, 101 S.W.3d 89,
96 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). In addition, matches to the already identified foreign
male DNA would also eliminate the "contamination" theory that the State
________________________
(cont'd from previous page)
 The microscopic match between the ligature and pantyhose from Mr. Swearingen's home, see
Majority Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *2, was based only on "visual comparison of tear
lines"—testimony "reminiscent of bite-mark evidence" whose reliability has been widely
criticized. Dissenting Opinion, 2015 WL 6513883, at *14 n.5 (Alcala, J.); see Comm. on
Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Sciences Community, Nat'l Research Council,
Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward 175–76 (2009).
 The description of food found in Ms. Trotter's stomach was undermined by testimony from Dr.
Stephen Pustilnik, Chief Medical Examiner for Galveston County who found nothing in autopsy
photos of the stomach meeting the trial description. (2012 Hearing, Vol. 5 at 34–35.).
7
At trial, the State sponsored testimony indicating that Ms. Trotter did not have a consensual
intimate relationship within two weeks of her disappearance. (See 29 Tr. at 240). As a
result, foreign male from a rape kit would thus be attributable only to a perpetrator.
17
advanced (and this Court has relied upon) to disregard the already-obtained
exclusionary DNA. Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d 32, 39 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); (see
also App. Br. at 46–48.8) Perhaps most importantly, the Majority's tabulation of
inculpatory evidence overlooks DNA testing already conducted on biological
material found in certain fingernail scrapings from the victim—which suggests a
struggle with someone—but which excluded Mr. Swearingen.9 (Reply, FHD.29, at
1 n.1.) This, in addition to the fact that a pubic hair discovered at the autopsy was
also determined not to be Mr. Swearingen's, (30 Tr. at 77–78), demonstrates that
the record includes substantive evidence that a foreign male other than Mr.
Swearingen was responsible for this crime. The additional exculpatory result of a
match of any of these items to the cigarette butts would likewise place this
suspect at the scene where Ms. Trotter's body was found—again contributing
powerful evidence that the guilty party was the DNA source and not Mr.
Swearingen. See Criner, No. 87-09-00591-CR-(1) (410th Dist. Ct., Montgomery
County, Tex., July 28, 2000).
8
The State's 2014 Appeal brief in Appeal No. AP-77,043 is referred to herein as "App. Br."
9
At trial, the State offered a variety of dubious explanations for this foreign male DNA,
including that: (1) blood came from an officer present at autopsy who cut himself shaving
(28 Tr. at 124-25), (2) a fleck of blood circulating through the morgue's air conditioning
system somehow landed in the scrapings from Ms. Trotter's fingernails (29 Tr. at 115-16), or
winds at the crime scene or the whir of helicopters involved in the search miraculously blew
blood from investigators under Ms. Trotter's fingernails (State's Response in Opposition to
Defendant's Motion for Forensic DNA Testing, at 6.).
18
Since this Court agrees that, under an appropriate construction of article
64.03(a)(2)(A), exculpatory DNA results would create at least a 51% chance that a
reasonable juror would find that an assault by another suspect created reasonable
doubt as to Mr. Swearingen's guilt, the Majority's decision should be reheard and
the District Court's grant of DNA testing should be affirmed.
CONCLUSION AND PRAYER
Appellant respectfully prays that this Honorable Court grant his Petition for
Rehearing, set this case for oral argument, and reverse the decision of the Majority
of the Court of Appeals, thereby affirming the District Court's grant of DNA
testing.
19
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Bryce Benjet
BRYCE BENJET
Tex. Bar. No. 24006829
The Innocence Project
40 Worth Street, Suite 701
New York, New York 10013
JAMES G. RYTTING
Philip Hilder
Hilder & Associates, P.C.
819 Lovett Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77006
Counsel for Appellee
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 9.4
I hereby certify that this document complies with the requirements of Tex.
R. App. Proc. 9.4(i). As calculated by Microsoft Word, there are 4,449 words in
this document, excluding the portions excepted from the word count by the Rules.
/s/ Bryce Benjet
BRYCE BENJET
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing instrument was
sent by electronic mail to counsel for the Appellant, at their usual e-mail addresses,
on the date of the submission of the original to the Clerk of this Court.
/s/ Bryce Benjet
BRYCE BENJET
20
EXHIBIT A
State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
2015 WL 6513883 Yeary, J., concurred in part and dissented in part and
Only the Westlaw citation is currently available. filedopinion in which Newell, J., joined.
NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN Alcala, J., filed dissenting opinion.
RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE
PERMANENT LAW REPORTS. UNTIL RELEASED,
IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL. ON DIRECT APPEAL IN CAUSE NO.
99–11–06435–CR, FROM THE 9TH DISTRICT
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. COURT, MONTGOMERY COUNTY
The State of Texas Attorneys and Law Firms
v.
Larry Ray Swearingen, Appellee Bryce E. Benjet, New York, NY, for Appellant.
NOS. AP–77,043 & AP–77,044 | DELIVERED: William J. Delmore III, Assistant District Attorney,
October 28, 2015 Conroe, TX, Lisa C. McMinn, State’s Attorney, Austin,
TX, for the State.
Synopsis
Background: Capital defendant, whose murder
conviction and death penalty were affirmed on direct OPINION
appeal, 101 S.W.3d 89, filed his third motion for
postconviction forensic DNA testing. The 9th District
Court, Montgomery County, J., denied motion. The Court KEASLER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in
of Criminal Appeals, Hervey, J., 303 S.W.3d 728, which KELLER, P.J., MEYERS, JOHNSON, HERVEY,
affirmed. Defendant thereafter filed a fourth motion for and RICHARDSON, JJ., joined.
DNA testing. The District Court granted defendant’s
motion. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, 424 *1 The trial judge granted Larry Swearingen’s request for
S.W.3d 32. Defendant thereafter filed a supplemental post-conviction DNA testing of several pieces of evidence
request for DNA testing, a fifth motion in which he under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 64. The
requested postconviction DNA testing of evidence. The judge also conditionally granted Swearingen’s motion to
District Court granted motion. State appealed. release certain evidence for preliminary testing to
determine whether the evidence contained biological
material. Because we once again find that Swearingen
fails to satisfy Chapter 64’s requirements, we reverse the
Holdings: The Court of Criminal Appeals, Keasler, J., judge’s order. We dismiss the State’s appeal challenging
held that: the conditional order.
[1]
defendant’s fifth and most recent motion for DNA
testing of was precluded by operation of the law of the
case doctrine to extent defendant sought testing of
evidence previously considered in prior appeal; I. Facts and Procedural History
[2]
defendant was not entitled to DNA testing of rape kit After being found guilty of the 1998 capital murder of
and hair evidence; and eighteen-year-old Melissa Trotter, Swearingen was
sentenced to death on July 11, 2000. His conviction was
[3]
State could not appeal trial court’s order that affirmed on direct appeal.1 We have found the following
conditionally granted defendant’s motion for release of previous findings of fact surrounding the substantial
evidence. inculpatory evidence presented at Swearingen’s trial
supported by the record:
Reversed and remanded in part; remaining issue on appeal • On the evening of December 7, 1998, two of
dismissed. [Swearingen’s] acquaintances, the Fosters, witnessed
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State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
a phone conversation in which [Swearingen] believed police would be after him.
arranged for a lunch meeting with a girl at a library
the following day, and [Swearingen] then told the • When the Fosters heard that Melissa Trotter was
Fosters that the girl was Melissa Trotter, a college missing on December 9, 1998, they contacted
student from Willis. [Swearingen], who claimed he did not remember the
last name of the girl with whom he had met the day
• Three witnesses saw [Swearingen] sitting with before.
Melissa in the Montgomery College library between
11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. the following day, *2 • When Mrs. Foster told [Swearingen] that she
December 8, 1998. recalled him saying the last name was “Trotter,” and
that a girl named Melissa Trotter was now missing,
• Melissa’s Biology teacher saw her leave the the phone went dead.
Montgomery College library with a male shortly
after 1:30 p.m. that day. • [Swearingen] led a Sheriff’s deputy on a high speed
chase.
• Melissa’s car remained in the Montgomery College
parking lot following her disappearance on • Following [Swearingen’s] arrest, law enforcement
December 8, 1998. authorities observed and photographed red marks on
[Swearingen’s] neck, cheek, and back.
• At 2:05 p.m. on December 8, 1998, [Swearingen]
called Sarah Searle and said that he was at lunch • On December 17, 1998, two neighbors of
with a friend. [Swearingen’s] mother and stepfather collected
numerous pieces of torn paper from along their
• Sometime around 3:00 p.m. on December 8, 1998, street, which turned out to be Melissa Trotter’s class
[Swearingen’s] landlord saw [Swearingen’s] truck schedule and some health insurance paper work
leaving from behind his home. Melissa’s father had given to her.
• At 3:03 p.m. on December 8, 1998, [Swearingen] • Melissa’s body was discovered in an area of the
placed a cell phone call that utilized a cell tower near Sam Houston National Forest with which
FM 1097 in Willis, Texas, which would be [Swearingen] would have been familiar from
consistent with [Swearingen] driving from his home previous time spent there.
to the Sam Houston National Forest.
• Melissa’s body showed signs of significant
• [Swearingen’s] wife testified that she found their decomposition when it was discovered in the woods
home in disarray on the evening of December 8, 25 days after her disappearance.
1998, but none of the Swearingens’ property was
missing. • The ligature found around Melissa’s neck matched
the remainder of a pair of pantyhose found within
• [Swearingen’s] wife observed Melissa’s cigarettes [Swearingen’s] home.
and lighter in [Swearingen’s] house that evening, and
those items were subsequently recovered from • The Harris Country Chief Medical Examiner
[Swearingen’s] home during the investigation. testified that during the digestive process, a person’s
stomach will usually not empty in less than two
• Hair and fiber evidence, as well as other physical hours, and any food within the stomach at death will
evidence, showed that Melissa had been in remain there.
[Swearingen’s] car and his home on the day of her
disappearance. • The contents of Melissa’s stomach at the autopsy,
which included what appeared to be chicken and a
• [Swearingen] filed a burglary report falsely french fry-like form of potato, were consistent with
claiming that he had been out of town and his home the tater tots she had eaten at Montgomery College
was broken into on the day of Melissa’s shortly before leaving with [Swearingen] and the
disappearance. Chicken McNuggets she and [Swearingen] had
apparently purchased at the nearby McDonald’s on
• Between the time of Melissa’s disappearance and the day of her disappearance.
[Swearingen’s] arrest, [Swearingen] told two
acquaintances on two different occasions that he • While in jail, [Swearingen] attempted to create an
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State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
exculpatory letter written in Spanish in which he a. Ms. Trotters [sic] bra, Trial Exhibit # 163;
claimed to be someone else who had knowledge of
Melissa’s murder. b. Ms. Trotter [sic] blue jeans, Trial Exhibit # 165;
• Within that letter, [Swearingen] detailed specifics c. Ms. Trotter’s sweater, Trial Exhibit # 166;
of the offense that accurately corroborated the
physical and medical evidence in the case. d. Ms. Trotter’s underwear, Trial Exhibit # 167;
• While in jail awaiting trial, [Swearingen] told a cell and
mate that he had committed the capital murder and
his only objective was to escape the death penalty. 2 e. Ms. Trotter’s black shirt (Not entered as an
exhibit, but collected and bagged at autopsy);”
1
Swearingen v. State, 101 S.W.3d 89 6. “Rape Kit”; and
(Tex.Crim.App.2003).
7. “Hairs collected from body, gloves used to move
Trotter’s body, and hairbrush found near scene.”
2
Swearingen v. State, 303 S.W.3d 728, 737–38
The judge’s second order conditionally granted a Motion
(Tex.Crim.App.2010).
for Release of Evidence “if it is later determined that the
proof of the existence of biological material is
insufficient.” The judge signed these orders without
This is certainly not Swearingen’s first foray in conducting any evidentiary hearing and a mere six months
post-conviction DNA testing. He filed Chapter 64 after we held that Chapter 64 did not entitle Swearingen
motions in October 2004, May 2008, and January 2009. to DNA testing of most of the same pieces of evidence.4
All were denied by the trial judge. In January 2013 he
filed his fourth motion. The judge granted the request, but 3
State v. Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d 32
we reversed.3 In May 2014, approximately three months
(Tex.Crim.App.2014).
after our opinion, Swearingen filed a supplemental
request for testing—a fifth motion under Chapter 64. In it,
he requested post-conviction DNA testing of several
pieces of evidence. In the granting Swearingen’s request, 4
Id. at 35, 39.
the judge found that (1) the evidence identified in
Swearingen’s motion exists, contains biological material,
is in a condition suitable for DNA testing, and subject to
sufficient chain of custody, (2) that identity was an issue
in this case, and (3) it is probable that Swearingen would
not be convicted if exculpatory results were obtained II. Analysis
through testing. The order then directed DNA testing of
[1] [2]
all the requested pieces of evidence: Under Chapter 64, a “convicted person may submit to
the convicting court a motion for forensic DNA testing of
*3 1. “Fingernail scrapings from Ms. Trotter’s left evidence containing biological material.”5 But the
and right hands, Trial Exhibit # 219.” convicting court can only order this testing if five
requirements are met:
2. “The ligature used to strangle Ms. Trotter (torn
pantyhose), Trial Exhibit # 169, and hair and other (1) “the court finds that the evidence still exists and
samples collected from ligature.” is in a condition making DNA testing possible;”
3. “The pantyhose comprising the other half of the (2) “the court finds that the evidence has been
ligature, Trial Exhibit # 175, and hair and other subjected to a chain of custody sufficient to establish
samples collected from pantyhose.” that it has not been substituted, tampered with,
replaced, or altered in any material respect;”
4. “Four (4) cigarette butts found near Ms. Trotter’s
body, not offered at trial.” (3) “the court finds that identity was or is an issue in
the case;”
5. “Items of Ms. Trotter’s clothing as follows:
(4) “the convicted person establishes by
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State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
preponderance of the evidence that the person would another DNA donor in the fingernail scrapings would
not have been convicted if exculpatory results had overcome the ‘mountain of evidence’ of [Swearingen’s]
been obtained through DNA testing;” and guilt.”13 And in our 2010 unanimous opinion, we noted
(5) “the convicted person establishes by that the evidence of Swearingen’s guilt was
preponderance of the evidence that the request for “overwhelming” and that “even if we were to grant [his]
the proposed DNA testing is not made to request to test all of the items proffered and those results
unreasonably delay the execution of sentence or were exculpatory, [he] cannot show by a preponderance
administration of justice.”6 of the evidence, or that there is a 51% chance, that he
would not have been convicted.”14 We noted that the trial
Chapter 64 motions are also subject to the “law of the judge made “supported-by-the-record findings of fact that
case” doctrine.7 According to that doctrine, “an appellate again, underscore the substantial evidence of guilt.”15
court’s resolution of questions of law in a previous appeal Because we find that the record does not contain any
are binding in subsequent appeals concerning the same change in the law, facts, or circumstances since our 2014
issue.”8 Therefore, “when the facts and legal issues are opinion and the granting of Swearingen’s latest Chapter
virtually identical, they should be controlled by an 64 motion, we see no reason to revisit our previous
appellate court’s previous resolution.”9 Such a rule holdings on the matter. We hold that the judge erred in
promotes “judicial consistency and efficiency.”10 granting the DNA testing request of the items listed as (1)
through (5) above.
5
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 64.01(a–1).
11
Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d at 32; Swearingen, 303
S.W.3d at 737–38.
6
Id. art. 64.03(a).
12
Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d at 38 (“Since we have
previously held that, as a matter of law, the appellee
7 had not met his burden of proof as to the existence of
Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d at 35–36.
biological material, and because the legislature’s
amendment did not alter this result except in the case of
the fingernail scrapings, the trial court erred under the
8
Id. law of the case doctrine when it disregarded our
previous holding. The appellee is not entitled to testing
of the ligature, the victim’s clothing, or the cigarette
butts.”).
9
Id.
13
Id. at 38–39 (“Primarily, this is because the victim’s
10
having encountered another person would not factually
Id. exclude [Swearingen] from having killed her. There are
many ways someone else’s DNA could have ended up
in the victim’s fingernails. Such results would not
require an inference that [Swearingen] would [have]
been acquitted.”).
A. Order granting DNA testing under Chapter 64
[3]
This Court has previously published opinions refusing
Swearingen’s Chapter 64 motions pertaining to the 14
Swearingen, 303 S.W.3d at 736.
particular pieces of evidence (1) through (5) listed
above.11 Most recently, in 2014, we unanimously reversed
this judge’s granting Swearingen’s prior Chapter 64
15
motion requesting DNA testing of that evidence. We held Id. at 737.
that under the “law of the case” doctrine, the judge erred
when he granted testing of pieces of evidence (2) through
(5).12 We also held that Swearingen was not entitled to *4 [4]The judge, however, found our 2010 holdings
DNA testing of the fingernail scrapings because we were inapplicable in that “Swearingen’s current request
“not persuaded that results showing the presence of includes additional probative evidence such as the rape
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State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
kit, hair evidence and cigarette butts.” Including cigarette 17
See Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d at 39 (“A requirement to
butts as a distinguishing factor is clearly wrong. assume that the results of testing were not only from
Swearingen sought testing of the cigarette butts in 2010 someone other than the convicted person but that the
and 2014. To the extent the rape kit and hair evidence other person was a repeat offender ... makes it hard to
present entirely new requests, they do not prove that this imagine a case in which we would not grant DNA
current request should be resolved any differently than in testing. Such compelling DNA results would certainly
our 2010 and 2014 conclusions. Swearingen is still unable overcome any mountain of inculpatory evidence. We
to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he believe that had the legislature meant to so drastically
lower the barrier for Chapter 64 testing, they would
would not have been convicted if exculpatory results had
have said so explicitly.”)
been obtained through DNA testing.16
16
See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 64.03(a)(2)(A).
B. Conditional order granting the release of evidence
The judge’s determination that Swearingen satisfied this for preliminary testing
[5]
requirement rests largely on two theories: The judge’s second order dismissed as moot
Swearingen’s Motion for Release of Evidence because he
(1) “these results would both rule out an innocent had granted Swearingen’s requested Chapter 64 DNA
explanation for the presence of the foreign DNA and testing. The order continued nonetheless and purportedly
would likewise provide support for Swearingen’s granted the motion in the alternative. It is this language
contention that the pantyhose found outside his home that forms the basis of the State’s separate appeal:
was planted”; and
However, the Court finds that, pursuant to the amended
(2) “Swearingen pointed to several alternative suspects Article 64.01(a), that the defendant would have the
as well as known killers active in the area at the time. right to demonstrate the presence of “identifiable”
There would be no innocent explanation for finding the biological material which “may be suitable” for testing.
DNA of an alternative suspect or known killer on or in Accordingly, this Court would GRANT the motion in
the victim or at the crime scene.... The strength of this the alternative if it is later determined that the proof of
[new-found] evidence [of a known killer’s the existence of biological material is insufficient.
involvement] would be greatly increased if subsequent
investigation of that individual produced additional *5 ....
evidence of guilt such as a confession or a false denial
of contact with the victim or the scene.” ... [I]f the evidence of the existence of biological
material pursuant to Article 64.01(a) is subsequently
The judge’s order does not take into consideration what determined to be insufficient, the Motion [for Release]
we referred to in our 2010 and 2014 opinions as the is GRANTED.
“mountain of inculpatory evidence” Swearingen faced at
However, the State is unable to appeal this conditional
trial. In fact, the current judge’s discussion of the
order. The State claims that it may, citing Article 44.01
relevance of potential results omits the most inculpatory
because the order was “issued under Chapter 64,”18 and
pieces of evidence admitted against Swearingen. Further,
Article 64.05’s broad phrase allowing “appeals under this
the judge’s findings are entirely speculative, especially
chapter.”19 While resolving the issue here would perhaps
when considered in the context of all the admitted
“provide an orderly and expeditious means for review of a
evidence. We faulted Swearingen in 2014 for attempting
potentially unauthorized order,”20 we hold the State cannot
to rely on the ramifications of hypothetical matches from
contest the order’s validity by way of appeal. The
evidence that eviscerate Chapter 64’s requirements.17 And
conditional order appears to be effective, if at all, in the
it is even more attenuated to assume hypothetical
event that this Court holds that Swearingen was not
confessions and false denials of contact stemming from
entitled to Chapter 64 testing. In other words, the
hypothetical DNA matches. Once again, Swearingen
conditional order rests on grounds outside the bounds of
cannot establish by a preponderance of the evidence that
Chapter 64.
he would not have been convicted if exculpatory results
had been obtained through DNA testing. For the
18
foregoing reasons, we vacate the order granting Chapter TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 44.01(a)(6) (“The state
64 testing. is entitled to appeal an order of a court in a criminal
case if the order: ... (6) is issued under Chapter 64”).
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State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
YEARY and NEWELL , JJ., join Part IIB of the opinion.
YEARY , J., filed a concurring and dissenting opinion, in
19
Id. art. 64.05 (“An appeal under this chapter is to ... [the which NEWELL, J, joined.
court of criminal appeals] if the convicted person was
convicted in a capital case and was sentenced to ALCALA , J., filed a dissenting opinion.
death....”).
20
State’s Brief at 5. CONCURRING AND DISSENTING OPINION
YEARY, J., filed a concurring and dissenting opinion in
In State v. Patrick, a plurality of this Court held that the which NEWELL, J., joined.
State could not appeal a judge’s order granting testing that
did not purport to be based on Chapter 64.21 The Patrick
plurality held that the proper avenue to contest the order I.
was through a writ of mandamus, which it conditionally
granted, holding the judge was “clearly and indisputably I join Part II.B. of the Court’s opinion disposing of cause
without jurisdiction to issue the order in question.”22 The number AP–77,044.
plurality held that a trial court does not possess any
inherent powers extending beyond the powers granted to
it under Chapter 64 that would permit it from granting
preliminary testing.23 Unlike Patrick, the State does not
seek mandamus relief along side its appeal. Accordingly, II.
we must dismiss this State’s appeal.
I write separately to express why I believe the Court
21 ought to affirm the trial court’s order granting DNA
State v. Patrick, 86 S.W.3d 592, 594
(Tex.Crim.App.2002).
testing, in cause number AP–77,043, at least in part.
22
Id. at 594–95
A. The Ligature, Cigarette Butts, and Victim’s
Clothing
23
Id. at 596 (“Any inherent powers possessed by the trial With respect to much of the evidence that the convicting
court as a result of its jurisdiction under Chapter 64 court has now ordered that testing be done (victim’s
would necessarily be limited by Chapter 64.”). clothing, cigarette butts, ligature), we have already
held—in some cases, twice—that Appellee failed to show
the existence of biological materials on these particular
items. State v. Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d 32, 37–38
(Tex.Crim.App.2014); Swearingen v. State, 303 S.W.3d
728, 732–33 (Tex.Crim.App.2010). Finding no “change
III. Conclusion in the law, facts, or circumstances since our 2014
opinion[,]”Majority Opinion at ––––, the Court continues
For the foregoing reasons, in cause number AP–77,043, to reject Appellee’s request to test those items for the
we reverse the judge’s order granting DNA testing under same reason. Judge Alcala believes that there has been a
Chapter 64 and remand for proceedings in accordance change in the facts that would preclude applicability of
with this opinion. In cause number AP–77,044, we the law of the case doctrine, namely, DNA analyst Huma
dismiss the State’s appeal challenging the judge’s order Nasir’s revised opinion. Dissenting Opinion at –––– –
conditionally granting the release of evidence. –––. Nasir now explains that, when she said “likely” in
her earlier affidavit, she actually meant “at least more
likely than not[.]” Id. at ––––. She then somehow
translates “more likely than not” into “a reasonable degree
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of scientific certainty that biological material is present type of “bodily fluid,” even if only the victim’s. But in
[.]” Id.(emphasis supplied.) In State v. Swearingen, we making any assessment as to whether exculpatory DNA
made it clear as a matter of law that “merely probable” is results would likely change a jury’s verdict, the Court
not sufficient. 424 S.W.3d at 38. In common parlance, should measure the “mountain of evidence” inculpating
“more likely than not” is the same as “probable.” I cannot Appellee against presumptively favorable test results for
blame the Court for rejecting the notion that “probable” all of the evidence for which biological material has been
may reasonably be regarded as equating with “a shown to be present: the rape kit, the hairs, and the
reasonable degree of scientific certainty.” Like the Court, fingernail scrapings. The Court should not rely on law of
I see no change in the law or facts to preclude our the case in this piecemeal fashion to first reject DNA
application of the law of the case doctrine. Majority testing of the fingernail scrapings, and then later to reject
Opinion at ––––. DNA testing of the rape kit and hairs without factoring in
the fingernail scrapings. Instead, I would have the Court
measure the mountain of evidence against the exculpatory
inferences that would flow from DNA testing that would
presumptively show third party DNA on all three of these
B. Fingernail Scrapings, Rape Kit, and Hairs sources, considered together.
*6 With respect to the fingernail scrapings, the Court I am not unmindful of decisions from this Court that have
today also relies on the law of the case doctrine, but this refused DNA testing under circumstances in which such
time to hold that Appellee cannot establish a different testing might reveal no more than the presence of an
prerequisite to DNA testing. Majority Opinion at –––– – accomplice without also ruling out the defendant’s
––––. In State v. Swearingen, we held that, even assuming participation as either principal actor or party. See, e.g.,
such testing would turn up DNA from a third party, not Wilson v. State, 185 S.W.3d 481, 485
Appellee’s, such exculpatory evidence would not (Tex.Crim.App.2006) (“[I]f new, more discriminating
“overcome the ‘mountain of evidence’ of [Appellee’s] DNA testing showed that another perpetrator was
guilt.” 424 S.W.3d at 38 (quoting Swearingen v. State, involved, that finding would not exonerate appellant
303 S.W.3d at 736). Hence, he cannot establish by a because it would show nothing more than there was
preponderance of the evidence that he would not have another party to the crime, at best.”). But, I believe that if
been convicted had the fingernail scrapings contained a DNA testing all three of these items had demonstrated
third party’s DNA. The Court reiterates that holding third-party DNA—and especially had it revealed the
today. presence of DNA from the same third party in all three of
these items, and none of Appellee’s DNA—some rational
Beyond this, however, the Court today does not purport to juror might readily have harbored a reasonable doubt with
rely on the law of the case doctrine. Regarding Appellee’s respect to whether Appellee had any role in Trotter’s
request for DNA testing of several new items, namely, the abduction, sexual assault, and murder.1 Cf. Routier v.
rape kit and certain hairs, the Court seems willing to State, 273 S.W.3d 241, 259 (Tex.Crim.App.2008) (“In
assume that these do contain biological material and does our estimation, DNA evidence showing that an unknown
not reject Appellee’s request for testing on that account. intruder—indeed, the same unknown intruder—had left
Instead, in an altogether new holding, the Court concludes blood on the night shirt and the door from the utility room
that, as with new DNA testing of the fingernail scrapings, to the garage, along with a facial hair and a pubic hair,
current testing of the rape kit and hairs, even if it revealed would more likely than not have caused the jury to harbor
third-party DNA, would not serve to refute the “mountain a reasonable doubt as to the appellant’s guilt and decline
of evidence” pointing to Appellee’s guilt. “Once again,” to convict her.”). At the very least, we should defer to the
the Court concludes, in an original holding that does not convicting court’s judgment to that effect.
rely upon law of the case, Appellee “cannot establish by a
preponderance of the evidence that he would not have 1
been convicted if exculpatory results had been obtained Applicant is entitled to DNA testing if he can
through DNA testing.” Majority Opinion at ––––. demonstrate “by a preponderance of the evidence” that,
among other things, “he would not have been convicted
if exculpatory results had been obtained” through that
I agree with Judge Alcala that both the hair and the rape testing. TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 64.03(a)(2)(A).
kit contain biological material in contemplation of Article If at least one rational juror would likely have harbored
64.01(a)(1). TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 64.01(a)(1). a reasonable doubt, Applicant would not have been
Dissenting Opinion at –––– – ––––. “Hair” is expressly convicted.
listed in the statute as it presently reads, and a rape kit
will inevitably contain, if not “semen,” then at least some
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*7 For these reasons, I ultimately dissent to the Court’s III.2 At issue in this case are Swearingen’s requests for
disposition of cause number AP–77,043. DNA testing on (1) the ligature that was used to kill the
victim, consisting of one half of a pair of pantyhose, (2)
the other half of the pair of pantyhose found in
Swearingen’s trailer, (3) hairs found on and near the
body, (4) the rape kit, (5) the fingernail scrapings, (6) the
cigarette butts found near the victim’s body, and (7) the
DISSENTING OPINION victim’s clothing. For consistency, I refer to these items
using the above assigned numbers throughout the opinion.
ALCALA, J., dissenting.
1
This is a close case with greatly important competing There is a disagreement about the number of Chapter
interests. On the one hand, this brutal crime against a 64 motions Swearingen has filed. By my reading of the
young college student, Melissa Trotter, occurred almost record, Swearingen has filed three motions. The trial
court denied his first motion, the 2004 motion, and this
twenty years ago, and the evidence establishing her Court dismissed his appeal of the trial court’s ruling
killer’s guilt should have been finally resolved by now. based on procedural default. In Swearingen I, this Court
On the other hand, for about a decade, Larry Ray addressed his second motion, the 2008 motion, and its
Swearingen, appellee, has been seeking DNA testing on supplement that had been filed by him. In Swearingen
items that he claims would exonerate him of this offense II, this Court addressed his third motion, the 2013
for which he was convicted. Swearingen’s current motion motion. Here, in Swearingen III, we again address his
includes first-time requests for DNA testing on hair third motion and its supplement that appears here after
evidence and the sexual assault evidence-collection kit our remand in Swearingen II.
from the victim (rape kit), which are by definition
biological material under the applicable statute. I
conclude that, despite the volume of incriminating 2
Swearingen filed a motion for DNA testing in 2004,
evidence of Swearingen’s guilt, DNA testing on the hair which the trial court denied in 2005. Because he did not
evidence and the rape kit linking a different person to this timely appeal the trial court’s order, this Court rejected
offense would, by a preponderance of the evidence, show his appeal due to procedural default. State v.
that Swearingen would not have been convicted. I, Swearingen, 189 S.W.3d 779 (Tex.Crim.App.2006).
therefore, respectfully dissent from this Court’s judgment This Court, therefore, never reached the merits of his
that, for the third time in over a decade, denies first motion for DNA testing.
Swearingen access to DNA testing under Chapter 64 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure. SeeTEX.CODE CRIM.
PROC. arts. 64.01, 64.03. I would accordingly uphold the
trial court’s order granting DNA testing of these items.
With respect to the other items, I concur in this Court’s A. The 2008 Motion Discussed in Swearingen I
judgment denying the testing.
*8 In May 2008, Swearingen filed a Chapter 64 motion
for DNA testing, and he updated the motion in January
2009. After the trial court denied that motion, this Court
affirmed the trial court’s ruling. Swearingen v. State, 303
I. Background S.W.3d 728 (Tex.Crim.App.2010) (Swearingen I ). This
motion requested the testing of materials that Swearingen
Since he was convicted and sentenced to death for the had not sought to be tested previously: (1) the ligature; (5)
rape and murder of Melissa Trotter, Swearingen has filed the victim’s fingernail scrapings, including (5–a)
multiple motions for DNA testing, each of which has been scrapings from under the left-hand fingernails that were
rejected by this Court.1 Acknowledging that he filed a shown to contain blood flakes and (5–b) other scrapings
motion in 2004 that was denied by the trial court and later from under the left-and right-hand fingernails, consisting
dismissed by this Court on appeal due to procedural of a “black flaky matter” and traces of sand or gravel; (7)
default, I focus on his 2008 motion that this Court the victim’s clothing, including scrapings from her ripped
addressed in Swearingen I; his 2013 motion initially jeans; and (8) a foreign pubic hair that was recovered
addressed in Swearingen II; and his supplement to the during the collection of the rape kit. Id. at 730.
2013 motion that was filed after our remand to the trial
court in Swearingen II, which is the subject of this The trial court denied the requests for DNA tests of (1)
Court’s instant opinion that I will refer to as Swearingen the ligature, (5–b) the other fingernail scrapings, and (7)
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the clothing because there had been no showing that these B. The Third Motion Addressed in Swearingen II
items contained biological material. Id. On appeal from
the trial court’s denial of the motion for DNA testing, this In response to the Legislature’s amendment of Chapter 64
Court noted that the then-existing statute required a in 2011, Swearingen filed another motion seeking DNA
movant to show that each of these items actually testing in 2013. His motion sought to have DNA testing
contained biological material. Id. at 733. This Court held performed on several pieces of evidence: (1) the ligature,
that, with respect to those items, “the record [was] void of (2) the other leg of pantyhose, (5) the fingernail scrapings,
any concrete evidence that biological material existed on (6) the cigarette butts, and (7) the victim’s clothing. In
the evidence sought to be tested.” Id. support of his motion, Swearingen attached an affidavit,
dated January 2013, by Huma Nasir, a forensics
The trial court’s order also denied testing of (5–a) the supervisor at Orchid Cellmark, Inc. The State responded
victim’s left-hand fingernail scrapings that contained that the doctrine on the law of the case applied and, on
blood flakes. Id. at 735. In upholding the trial court’s that basis, it argued that Swearingen’s motion for DNA
ruling as to this evidence, this Court observed that the testing should be rejected.
blood flakes had already been tested, and the results of
that testing had revealed a full male DNA profile that was *9 The trial court granted the motion in June 2013,
inconsistent with the DNA profile of Swearingen, the thereby ordering DNA testing to proceed, and it made
complainant, or any other known DNA profile. Id. findings of fact and conclusions of law supporting that
Although the initial test was not done with the most recent order. After the State appealed, this Court reversed the
technique, this Court reasoned that Swearingen was not trial court’s order. State v. Swearingen, 424 S.W.3d 32
entitled to retesting of this evidence because the previous (Tex.Crim.App.2014) ( Swearingen II ). This Court
test had already produced accurate, probative results in explained that it had reviewed the requests discussed in
the form of a full male DNA profile that had been Swearingen I with respect to (1) the ligature, (5) the
submitted to CODIS without a match. Id. This Court, fingernail scrapings, and (7) the victim’s clothes. Id. at
therefore, concluded that Swearingen had failed to show 36. This Court stated, “Although the law has been
“a reasonable likelihood that results of re-testing would be amended, these amendments did not affect all of our
more accurate or probative.” Id. previous determinations. In the instances where the
amendment did not impact our analysis, the trial court
The trial court additionally denied the request for testing erred by failing to adhere to our previous determinations.”
of the foreign pubic hair that was recovered during the Id.
collection of the rape kit because the pubic hair could not
be found and a chain of custody could not be established. This Court noted that, since Swearingen’s previous round
This Court upheld this ruling because the hair was not of DNA requests, the Legislature’s amendments changed
available for testing. Id.3 Chapter 64 in two major ways. Id. First, the Legislature
added a definition of “biological material,” which
3 specifies that certain items, such as fingernail scrapings,
Swearingen’s present motion does not request DNA
testing on (8) the foreign pubic hair that this Court are per se biological material. Id. at 37. Second, the
determined in Swearingen I had been lost, and, Legislature eliminated a requirement that the lack of
therefore, I do not discuss that item any further in this previous testing had not been the convicted person’s fault.
opinion. Id. In examining the meaning of these amendments, this
Court initially observed, as it had in Swearingen I, that a
movant for DNA testing is required to demonstrate that
This Court also upheld the trial court’s determination that the evidence contains biological material. Id. The Court
Swearingen had filed the Chapter 64 motion to further said, “No part of the amendments addresses a
unreasonably delay his execution. Id. at 736. Furthermore, method for determining the existence of biological
the Court detailed, in twenty-five bullet points, the material.” Id. The Court expressly noted that Swearingen
evidence supporting its conclusion that, even if the DNA had the burden to “prove biological material exists and
test results were favorable as to the items that had been not that [its existence] is merely probable.” Id. at 38.
requested for testing in that motion, Swearingen was
unable to show by a preponderance of the evidence that As to the particular items that Swearingen sought to be
he would not have been convicted. Id. at 736–38. tested, this Court held that he had failed to show the
existence of biological material in the case of (1) the
ligature, (2) the pantyhose, (6) the cigarette butts, and (7)
the victim’s clothing. Id. This Court reasoned that,
although Swearingen had presented Nasir’s affidavit
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State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
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indicating that touch DNA would “likely” be contained on
those items, a mere probability of the existence of
biological material was inadequate to satisfy his burden
under the statute. Id. at 38. In light of the absence of new
evidence in Swearingen II that would show that these
items contained biological material, this Court reached the C. This Court’s Instant Majority Opinion: After
same conclusion as in Swearingen I, in which this Court Remand from Swearingen II
had held that the lack of evidence of biological material *10 After this Court’s remand order, Swearingen
required Swearingen’s motion to be rejected. See id. at supplemented his motion by requesting DNA testing on
37–38; Swearingen I, 303 S.W.3d at 733. This Court items that he had previously requested to have tested, and
determined that the law-of-the-case doctrine applied, and he additionally sought DNA testing on certain items for
it was bound to its former analysis and ruling denying the the first time. He explained that “each item was either not
testing as to these particular items. Swearingen II, 424 previously tested or can now be tested with much more
S.W.3d at 37–38. sensitive technology that will produce more robust
results.” Specifically, the first-time requests are for testing
As to (5) the fingernail scrapings, this Court held that the of (3) the hairs, including hair recovered from the victim’s
law-of-the-case doctrine did not apply because the
body and clothing, hairs on the ligature and pantyhose,
amended statute defined fingernail scrapings as biological hair recovered from gloves used to move the body, and
material per se, and, therefore, Swearingen did not need to hair recovered from a hairbrush found near the victim’s
show that they contained biological material. Id. at 38. body, and (4) the rape kit. In response, the State argued
Nonetheless, this Court ruled that Swearingen was not that the law-of-the-case doctrine should apply to this case
entitled to DNA testing as to the fingernail scrapings. Id. in its entirety.
at 38–39. It reasoned that, even if exculpatory results
were obtained, “the victim’s having encountered another
person would not factually exclude [Swearingen] from
having killed her,” in light of the fact that “[t]here are
many ways someone else’s DNA could have ended up in II. The Doctrine on the Law of the Case is
the victim’s fingernails.” Id. It further observed that the Inapplicable to the Requests for DNA Testing on (2)
jury was already aware that an unidentified male’s DNA the Pantyhose, (3) the Hair Evidence, (4) the Rape Kit,
was found under the victim’s fingernails, and, therefore, and (6) the Cigarette Butts
any additional similar exculpatory results would not have
likely changed the jury’s verdict in light of the “mountain The doctrine on the law of the case is inapplicable to four
of evidence” showing Swearingen’s guilt. Id. at 39 (“If of Swearingen’s requests. Swearingen now presents
the jury already knew of exculpatory results obtained additional evidence in support of his claim that (2) the
from under the victim’s nails and disregarded them, we pantyhose and (6) the cigarette butts contain biological
have no reason to believe that it would be any different material, and he includes first-time requests for testing on
with regards to the remainder of the fingernail (3) the hair evidence and (4) the rape kit, neither of which
scrapings.”). This Court reversed and remanded for was before this Court in Swearingen I or Swearingen II.
proceedings in accordance with its opinion. 4 Id. Because the facts are not virtually identical, the
law-of-the-case doctrine is inapplicable to these requests.
4
Our remand in Swearingen II was for proceedings in
accordance with the opinion, and the purpose of the The law-of-the-case doctrine is designed to promote
remand is unclear. Swearingen asserts that the remand consistency and efficiency so that trial courts may rely
was to permit him the opportunity to obtain a revised upon the holdings of reviewing courts. Carroll v. State,
affidavit from the expert and to submit new requests for 101 S.W.3d 454, 461 n. 35 (Tex.Crim.App.2003). It is
testing. The State understands the remand to have been only applicable if “the facts and legal issues are virtually
for the trial court to enter an order denying the motion identical ... [so that] they should be controlled by an
for DNA testing and setting an execution date. It would
appellate court’s previous resolution.” Swearingen II, 424
have been unnecessary either (1) to remand the case for
a denial order because that would be done through
S.W.3d at 36. For the law-of-the-case doctrine to control
rendition of a judgment by this Court, or (2) to remand this case, the evidence would have to show that the
for the setting of an execution date, which is unrelated applicable DNA statute, the items sought to tested, and
to a DNA motion. Swearingen’s theory thus presents the evidence relevant to the motion are virtually identical.
the only plausible rationale for this Court’s remand See id.
order.
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Here, the applicable DNA statute permits a convicted Nasir’s former affidavit in Swearingen II more
person to “submit to the convicting court a motion for equivocally stated,
forensic DNA testing of evidence containing biological
material.” TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 64.01(a–1). Thus the pantyhose was probably
This motion may request testing of evidence that was handled by the assailant with some
secured in relation to the offense comprising the force and likely contains his
underlying conviction and was in the possession of the biological material that is suitable
State during the trial but either was not previously tested for DNA testing.... Biological
or, although previously tested, can be tested with newer material from any wearer of this
techniques which can provide more accurate and pantyhose and anyone who tore the
probative results. Id. A convicting court may order testing pantyhose is likely to be detected
if the evidence in question (1) still exists and is in a on this item using modern DNA
condition making DNA testing possible; (2) has been testing.... Where there has been
subjected to a chain of custody sufficient to establish that such obvious and forceful contact
it has not been substituted, tampered with, replaced, or with the victim’s clothing, the
altered in any material respect; and (3) identity was or is biological material of the victim
an issue in the case. Id.art. 64.03(a)(1). Further, the and the perpetrator is likely to be
convicted person has the burden of showing by a deposited on the clothing....
preponderance of the evidence that he “would not have Because cigarettes are both
been convicted if exculpatory results had been obtained manually handled and placed in a
through DNA testing” and that the request for testing is person’s mouth, skin cells and
not made to unreasonably delay the execution of sentence. epithelial cells from saliva were
Id.art. 64.03(a)(2). likely deposited on the cigarettes,
rendering them suitable for DNA
Swearingen’s present motion for DNA testing includes analysis....
requests for testing of the following items: (A)(1) the
ligature, (2) the pantyhose, (6) the cigarette butts, and (7) Upon Swearingen’s request after this Court’s remand in
the victim’s clothing; (B)(3) the recovered hair samples; Swearingen II, Nasir supplemented her affidavit to more
and (C)(4) the rape kit. Swearingen also requests testing clearly articulate her scientific position that we now
of (5) the fingernail scrapings, which I discuss in Section consider in the instant case. The new affidavit states,
D. Section D addresses the State’s theory that the doctrine
on the law of the case broadly applies to bar DNA testing In my prior affidavit, I discussed
in this case because of this Court’s characterization in the concept of “touch DNA” and
Swearingen I and Swearingen II that there is a mountain explained that DNA profiles can be
of evidence that shows Swearingen’s guilt for this obtained from microscopic
offense. amounts of skin cells left by a
person who has touched or handled
an object. I provided my expert
opinion that the objects identified
A. (1) The Ligature, (2) The Pantyhose, (6) The in this case would “likely” contain
Cigarette Butts, and (7) The Victim’s Clothing biological material suitable for
testing. By “likely,” I meant that it
*11 In Swearingen II, this Court held that Swearingen had
is at least more likely than not that
failed to provide evidence to show that there would be
evidence in this case would contain
DNA on (1) the ligature, (2) the pantyhose, (6) the
biological material.... I have now
cigarette butts, and (7) the victim’s clothing, and, here, he
been asked to provide a more
requests DNA testing as to the same items. Swearingen II,
precise opinion regarding the
424 S.W.3d at 38. This time, however, he has produced a
scientific likelihood that biological
new affidavit from his DNA expert, Huma Nasir, in
material is present on the objects
which she reports that biological material is present on
identified for testing in this case....
these items. She states, “It is my opinion to a reasonable
It is my opinion to a reasonable
degree of scientific certainty that biological material is
degree of scientific certainty that
present on [ (1) the ligature, (2) the pantyhose, (6) the
biological material is present on the
cigarette butts, and (7) the victim’s clothing].” No
items....
affidavit from Nasir was presented in Swearingen I. And
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Because the facts before us are different in light of the requests for DNA testing on (3) the hairs.
new evidence of the presence of biological material based
on a never before considered affidavit, the law-of-the-case
doctrine ordinarily would be inapplicable in the resolution
of this matter. Here, however, as I explain in Section D C. (4) The Rape Kit
below, the doctrine controls this case with respect to (1)
the ligature and (7) the clothing because this Court’s Swearingen did not request DNA testing of the rape kit in
analysis in Swearingen I held that, even if exculpatory Swearingen I or Swearingen II, or in any other motion for
results were obtained as to those items, that evidence DNA testing. The law of the case, therefore, cannot apply
would not overcome the weight of the evidence to his request for testing as to that item. Surprisingly, it
establishing Swearingen’s guilt. As to (2) the pantyhose appears that the rape kit has never been tested at all. The
and (6) the cigarette butts, I conclude, as explained in rape kit apparently was not tested because the Texas
Section D below, that those items are not controlled by Department of Public Safety reported that no semen was
the doctrine on the law of the case. detected. However, Nasir’s affidavit states that the rape
kit should still be tested. She states, “I am aware of a
number of cases in which a lab failed to detect semen but
a foreign DNA profile was detected nonetheless. This
B. (3) The Hair Evidence may be due to levels of semen too low to be detected by
the methodology employed, poor laboratory testing
The DNA testing on the hair evidence requested in the processes, or foreign DNA from biological material other
instant proceedings was never before requested in the than spermatazoa (such as epithelial cells).” The
motions discussed in Swearingen I or Swearingen II, or in capabilities for DNA testing from fifteen years ago have
any other motion for DNA testing. In his supplemented changed considerably as compared to what is
Chapter 64 motion, Swearingen requests testing of certain scientifically possible today. Further, like the hair
hair collected from the victim’s clothing, hair recovered evidence, the rape kit is biological material according to
from the victim’s body, and hair recovered from a the statutory definition. So, the law-of-the-case doctrine
hairbrush found near the victim’s body. These are entirely cannot apply to the rape kit, at least regarding the
new requests that we have not previously ruled upon, so requirement that Swearingen must prove the existence of
the doctrine on the law of the case does not govern our biological material. I would hold that the law-of-the-case
disposition of his motion for testing as to these pieces of doctrine is inapplicable to the instant request for DNA
evidence. The State contends that none of this hair is in an testing on (4) the rape kit.
appropriate condition for testing because it has not been
determined that the roots are intact. However, Nasir’s
affidavit states, “Mitochondrial DNA testing can also be
conducted on the shaft of the hair(s) without roots. D. Applicability of the Law–of–the–Case Doctrine to
Although mitochondrial DNA profiles are not CODIS Certain Items
eligible, results can be used for exclusion purposes and to
compare against known samples.” It is a fallacy to suggest that, because this Court, in
Swearingen I and Swearingen II, referred to the evidence
*12 Further, the Legislature’s 2011 amendments to of guilt in this case as constituting a mountain of evidence
Chapter 64 included a definition of biological material. when comparing it to Swearingen’s requests for DNA
The statute was amended to define biological material as testing of certain items, namely (1) the ligature, (5) the
follows: “(a) In this section, ‘biological material’: (1) fingernail scrapings, and (7) the victim’s clothing, the
means an item that is in possession of the state and that same analysis of the evidence must identically apply to
contains blood, semen, hair, saliva, skin tissue or cells, the requests for DNA testing on (2) the pantyhose, (3) the
fingernail scrapings, bone, bodily fluids, or other hairs, (4) the rape kit, and (6) the cigarette butts. I
identifiable biological evidence that may be suitable for conclude, as explained below, that the law-of-the-case
forensic DNA testing; and (2) includes the contents of a doctrine is inapplicable to the requests for DNA testing on
sexual assault evidence collection kit.” TEX.CODE (2) the pantyhose, (3) the hairs, (4) the rape kit, and (6)
CRIM. PROC. art. 64.01(a). The previous version of the the cigarette butts because this Court has never weighed
statute did not define the term biological material. the probative value of favorable findings from that testing
According to the amended statute, the hairs collected are, against the weight of the incriminating evidence
by definition, biological material, so Swearingen has met establishing Swearingen’s guilt.
his burden of proof as to the hairs. I would hold that the
law-of-the-case doctrine is inapplicable to the instant In Swearingen I, we held that the mountain of evidence
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was so large that “even if we were to grant Swearingen II, 424 S.W.3d at 38. We ruled this way
[Swearingen’s] request to test all of the items proffered because only the fingernail scrapings were left after we
[he] cannot show by a preponderance of the evidence, or disposed of the other evidence under the law-of-the-case
that there is a 51% chance, that he would not have been doctrine.
convicted.” Swearingen I, 303 S.W.3d at 736. That
analysis pertained to (1) the ligature, (5) the fingernail Unlike the items in Swearingen I and Swearingen II, this
scrapings, and (7) the victim’s clothing. Because this Court has never weighed the evidence of Swearingen’s
Court in Swearingen I has already weighed the guilt against any exculpatory DNA evidence that might be
exculpatory value of favorable DNA evidence that might obtained from testing on (2) the pantyhose, (3) the hairs,
be obtained from those items, this Court today is bound (4) the rape kit, or (6) the cigarette butts. The
by the law-of-the-case as to those items. law-of-the-case doctrine, therefore, is inapplicable as to
those items.
*13 Our ruling in Swearingen II assessed only the
probative value of exculpatory fingernail scrapings, and The following chart visually demonstrates my conclusions
therefore, our analysis on the comparative weight of that with respect to the items to which the law-of-the-case
evidence against the evidence of Swearingen’s guilt is doctrine applies and those to which it does not apply:
limited to that item. There, we said, “We are not
persuaded that results showing the presence of another
DNA donor in the fingernail scrapings would overcome
the ‘mountain of evidence’ of the appellee’s guilt.”
Requested Items for Swearingen I Swearingen II 2013 Current 2013 Motion
DNA Testing 2008/2009 Motion Motion on Remand
(1) The No evidence shows Court applied The law-of-the-case
Ligatureand(7)The that the items law-of-the-case doctrine applies
Clothing contained biological doctrine to the failure based on the finding
material. Alternatively, to show that the items in Swearingen I that
the probative value of contained biological the probative value of
any exculpatory material. the items would not
results would not overcome the
overcome the incriminatory
mountain of evidence. evidence.
(2) The No evidence shows The law of the case
Pantyhoseand(6) The that this item does not apply
Cigarette Butts contained biological because the new
material. affidavit shows that
this item does contain
biological material.
(3) The Hairs and(4) The law of the case
The Rape Kit does not apply
because these are
newly requested
items that are per se
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 13
State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
biological material.
(5) The Fingernail No evidence shows New statute defined The law-of-the-case
Scrapings that then-existing this item as a doctrine applies
technology could not biological material, based on finding that
yield probative but exculpatory the probative value of
results. Alternatively, results from this exculpatory test
the probative value of testing would not results would not
any exculpatory have changed the overcome the
results would not outcome of the trial. incriminatory
overcome the evidence.
mountain of evidence.
has always been known to the parties, and [Swearingen]
could have requested DNA testing of those items at any
time.” But a defendant’s failure to request testing of an
III. Swearingen Meets all the Requirements for DNA item earlier is no longer a part of the applicable statute,
testing on the Hair Evidence and the Rape Kit, But He and it can no longer constitute a basis for rejecting a
Does Not Meet the Requirements for Testing of the request for testing. Swearingen II, 424 S.W.3d at 37. I
Pantyhose or the Cigarette Butts would defer to the convicting court’s fact finding that the
items remain available in a suitable condition for testing.
Having determined that the law-of-the-case doctrine
applies to disallow testing of all of the items except for *14 A movant must show that identity was an issue at
four items, I explain why the requirements of Chapter 64 trial. No one disputes that Swearingen meets this
are met with respect to (3) the hair evidence and (4) the requirement.
rape kit, but not as to (2) the pantyhose or (6) the cigarette
butts. Chapter 64 requires that the evidence contain With respect to the requirement that he show by a
biological material, that it is in a condition to be tested, preponderance of the evidence that he would not have
that identity was an issue at trial, that the defendant would been convicted if favorable DNA results from the items
not have been convicted if favorable results had been that he now requests be tested had been obtained at trial, I
obtained by DNA testing, and that the convicted person is conclude that Swearingen satisfies this requirement as to
not filing the motion to unreasonably delay execution. the hairs and the rape kit. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC.
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 64.03. art. 64.03(a)(2)(A). This Court’s majority opinion
suggests that, because our opinions in Swearingen I and
Swearingen II held that Swearingen could not overcome
the mountain of evidence in those appeals, it necessarily
A. The Hair Evidence and the Rape Kit
follows that he would be similarly unable to do so here.
All of these requirements are met in this case for the hair But, as explained above, the items requested in
evidence and the rape kit. As discussed above, the Swearingen I and Swearingen II are not the same as the
applicable statute now defines the hair evidence and rape ones requested here. It is true that this Court’s previous
kit as per se biological material. See id.art. 64.01(a). The rulings have detailed the mountain of evidence against
convicting court made a finding of fact that the hair Swearingen in holding that exculpatory DNA results
evidence and rape kit remain in a condition to be tested, would not have made a difference in his conviction. But a
and the record supports that determination. On appeal, the DNA test from a rape kit conclusively showing that the
State has presented a minimal challenge to the testing of victim had sexual intercourse with another male within a
these items, stating that the “existence of a sexual assault few hours of her murder, and DNA results showing that
collection kit and hairs found on Ms. Trotter’s clothing hair on and near her body belonged to another person,
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 14
State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
when viewed in combination with the evidence that was against the defendant that he had not sought testing of the
introduced at Swearingen’s trial that the complainant had items earlier. Swearingen I, 303 S.W.3d at 736. Under the
another person’s DNA under her fingernails, would amended statute that applies here, it is improper to
establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the jury consider a defendant’s failure to request the testing
would have acquitted him. It should not be forgotten that sooner. Furthermore, unlike the situation before us in
the mountain of evidence is circumstantial in nature, with Swearingen I, here the convicting court has recommended
the exception of the testimony of a jailhouse snitch and a DNA testing and has made a factual finding that
letter written by Swearingen with details of the crime that, Swearingen has not filed this motion for purposes of
according to him, were in the autopsy report. The most delaying his execution. I would defer to that
incriminating circumstantial evidence linking Swearingen determination and hold that Swearingen’s current motion
to violence against Trotter is the evidence that the is not filed for purposes of delay.
pantyhose remnant found in his trailer, which had DNA
from his wife and him, matched the other part of the
pantyhose that was used as the ligature to kill Trotter, and
police recovered from inside his truck two hairs matching B. The Pantyhose and the Cigarette Butts
Trotter’s DNA profile that appeared as if they had been
forcibly removed. I agree that all of the circumstantial Although I conclude that the doctrine on the law of the
evidence introduced by the State at Swearingen’s trial case cannot be used as a proper basis for denying DNA
strongly connects him to Trotter at some point prior to her testing on (2) the pantyhose and (6) the cigarette butts, I
death, and it is powerful evidence of Swearingen’s guilt. reach the same ultimate conclusion as this Court’s
But its persuasive value would be greatly undermined by majority opinion that DNA testing must be denied as to
new DNA evidence indicating that the rape kit and the those items. Even if exculpatory results were obtained
hairs found on and near the victim’s body contained a from the pantyhose, those results would not, by a
DNA profile inconsistent with Swearingen’s DNA preponderance of the evidence, show that the jury would
profile, particularly when fingernail scrapings also did not have reached a different verdict in this case, in light of the
match Swearingen’s DNA profile.5 fact that the pantyhose remnant was found in
Swearingen’s trailer, it contained DNA matching his and
5 his wife’s DNA profiles, and it matched the other part of
I note here that, even though DNA consistent with
the pantyhose that was used as the ligature to kill Trotter.
Swearingen’s and his wife’s DNA profiles were found
on the pantyhose leg in their trailer, and even though Furthermore, even if exculpatory results were obtained
DNA consistent with the victim’s DNA profile was from the cigarette butts, those results would not, by a
found in Swearingen’s truck, we know from current preponderance of the evidence, show that the jury would
statistical problems relating to DNA-mixture have reached a different verdict in this case, given the
interpretation that even these results are fallible. In a testimony suggesting that the cigarette butts had been left
circumstantial case such as this one, exculpatory results by individuals who found the victim’s body, and given
from the rape kit and hair evidence on and near the that the victim’s body was recovered after being outdoors
victim’s body likely could affect the inferences made for an extended period of time. In light of the slight
from the statistical probabilities of the profiles
probative value of any favorable results that might be
developed in the case. Furthermore, although there was
testimony of a microscopic match between the leg of
obtained from testing on the pantyhose and the cigarettes,
the pair of pantyhose in Swearingen’s trailer and the I cannot conclude that such results, by a preponderance of
ligature used to kill Trotter, that type of evidence seems the evidence, would have affected the jury’s decision, and
reminiscent of bite-mark evidence that has recently thus I agree that testing is not required as to those items.
been questioned, and its value would be significantly
undermined by exculpatory results from the rape kit
and hairs found on and near the victim’s body.
IV. Conclusion
*15 Finally, Chapter 64 requires that the movant show
“by a preponderance of the evidence that the request for The horrific nature of this crime cries for justice against
the proposed DNA testing is not made to unreasonably the guilty person, but that punishment has yet to occur, in
delay the execution of sentence or administration of part, because of the State’s persistence in challenging the
trial court’s orders granting DNA testing in this case.
justice.” Id. art. 64.03(a)(2)(B). In Swearingen I, this
Court upheld the trial court’s determination that his Given that Swearingen will be executed for this crime,
motion was filed for purposes of delay. However, under can anyone rationally argue that the rape kit and hairs
should not be tested when there is only circumstantial
the statute as it existed then, it was permissible to hold it
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 15
State v. Swearingen, --- S.W.3d ---- (2015)
2015 WL 6513883
evidence of guilt, even if it is a mountain of it, and All Citations
testimony from a jailhouse snitch? I would hold that DNA
testing should be conducted on the rape kit and hair --- S.W.3d ----, 2015 WL 6513883
evidence. Therefore, I respectfully dissent from the
Court’s reversal of the trial court’s order granting
Swearingen’s motion for post-conviction DNA testing.
End of Document © 2015 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 16
EXHIBIT B