Commonwealth v. Fernandez
Commonwealth v. Fernandez
Opinion of the Court
In 2009, a Superior Court jury convicted the defendant of raping a fourteen year old girl. That conviction was affirmed on direct appeal in a memorandum and order issued pursuant to our rule 1:28. See Commonwealth v. Fernandez,
Background. The victim was the daughter of the defendant's friend's girl friend. The defendant's conviction was based on testimony that "[a]fter the victim refused his request for oral sex, [the defendant] ... lowered the victim's pants and licked her vagina." Fernandez I. The victim reported the crime to the police four days later, and two days after that, she provided police the clothes she had worn on the day in question. No saliva was found on the clothing, a fact that the jury heard. Sperm residue was found on the girl's underpants, a fact that -- at the request of the Commonwealth -- the jury did not hear because of the rape shield statute.
Discussion. We begin by examining whether the second DNA motion raises issues not addressed by the first. With respect to the DNA testing issues, there are two nominal differences between the motions, which we address in turn. The first such difference has to do with what material the defendant was requesting be tested. The first DNA motion specifically requested DNA testing of the victim's underpants, while the second motion referred more generally to "the rape kit obtained in the underlying prosecution."
The second nominal difference between the first DNA motion and the second has to do with the type of DNA testing that the defendant requested. The first DNA motion requested "DNA testing" without further specification. The second DNA motion specifically requested that "Y-STR DNA" testing be done, as opposed to the CODIS testing that the defendant claimed previously had been done and on which the motion claimed the Commonwealth had "relied" at trial. However, as the Commonwealth's brief points out, the Commonwealth did not rely on any DNA testing at trial; indeed, apparently no DNA testing of the victim's clothing ever was done.
In sum, while there are nominal differences between the first DNA motion and the second, those motions in substance are the same. We already have ruled on the issues the defendant seeks to raise, and the defendant therefore is estopped from raising them again.
Order dated November 29, 2017, denying motion for DNA testing affirmed.
The defendant also raised certain issues unrelated to DNA testing. Those issues are no longer in dispute.
The Commonwealth asserts that, strictly speaking, both motion judges should have "dismissed" the motions instead of "denying" them. Nothing ultimately turns on this.
Fernandez I upheld the judge's exclusion of that evidence.
See Commonwealth v. Jones,
A close reading of the defendant's papers suggests that he inaccurately assumed that because the victim's underpants were tested for saliva and sperm, then that testing must have been DNA testing.
Were we to reach these issues again, we would agree with the reasoning of Fernandez II, as well as the thoughtful explanation provided by the judge who denied the second DNA motion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.