The Volokh Conspiracy - Constitutional Right to Access to DNA Evidence for Purposes of Clemency Petition,

recognized by McKithen v. Brown, a decision this Monday from Judge John Gleeson of the federal trial court for the Eastern District of New York. It's a long opinion, but here's the bottom line:

The Petition Clause ... secures a right of meaningful access to whatever avenues remain [after normal appeals have been exhausted, avenues that include a clemency petition -EV], and the Due Process Clause confers a procedural right of access to evidence for DNA testing, if the testing can be accomplished at little cost and exculpatory results would undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial.

Seems like an important result, if it's ultimately upheld on appeal. The national media and the blogosophere -- including legal blogs -- seemingly haven't picked it up yet, though my searches found a short article on the subject in today's Daily News (New York).

	[Eugene Volokh, July 23, 2008 at 7:16pm] Trackbacks Constitutional Right to Access to DNA Evidence for Purposes of Clemency Petition, recognized by McKithen v. Brown, a decision this Monday from Judge John Gleeson of the federal trial court for the Eastern District of New York. It's a long opinion, but here's the bottom line: The Petition Clause ... secures a right of meaningful access to whatever avenues remain [after normal appeals have been exhausted, avenues that include a clemency petition -EV], and the Due Process Clause confers a procedural right of access to evidence for DNA testing, if the testing can be accomplished at little cost and exculpatory results would undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial. Seems like an important result, if it's ultimately upheld on appeal. The national media and the blogosophere -- including legal blogs -- seemingly haven't picked it up yet, though my searches found a short article on the subject in today's Daily News (New York).