Case (cite)
People v. Melcher, 2011 WL 4432935 (Ct. App. Cal. 2011)
“Significantly, a recent unpublished decision concluded, after a full evidentiary hearing, that the very theory of firearm identification used by the San Francisco Police Department Crime Lab at issue in our case was ‘reliable under Daubert. While there is some subjectivity involved, it is the subjective judgment of trained professionals with a keen practiced eye for discerning the extent of matching patterns. The methods used are reliable.'”
Note on Kelly hearings: “Our Supreme Court has laid down three requirements governing admission of evidence generated by a new scientific technique. First, the reliability of the new technique must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the relevant scientific field. Thus, when faced with a new method of proof, courts will require a preliminary showing of general acceptance in the relevant scientific community. (Kelly, supra, 17 Cal.3d at p. 30.) Second, the witness testifying to the reliability of the technique must be properly qualified as an expert on that subject. And third, the evidence must show that correct scientific procedures were followed. (Ibid.)
The Kelly court further explained that once a published appellate decision has affirmed admission of evidence based on a new scientific technique, that precedent will control subsequent trials, “at least until new evidence is presented reflecting a change in the attitude of the scientific community.” (Kelly, supra, 17 Cal.3d at p. 32.) In other words, the precedent controls “in the absence of evidence that the prevailing scientific opinion has materially changed.””