Birch v. Commissioner of Correction

Summary

The court held that the state violated the petitioner's due process right to a fair trial by failing to correct forensic testimony asserting that a towel contained blood when the towel had not been tested and later testing showed no blood. Because the state knew or should have known the testimony was incorrect, it bore the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless, which it failed to do. The habeas judgment was therefore reversed and a new trial ordered.