Thurston v. Vanihel

Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s habeas petition that challenged his felony rape conviction on ground that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to report that summarized DNA analysis of cigarette butts found at scene of alleged rape, where report identified defendant’s DNA as matching “sperm fraction” collected in different case (that was identified only by case number) to which defendant had been charged. State Appellate Court, in rejecting ineffective assistance of counsel claim, found that reference in report was too vague to support any forbidden propensity inference, and Ct. of Appeals held that State Appellate Court’s decision that defendant had failed to establish prejudice prong set forth in Strickland was not unreasonable. Ct. of Appeals further observed that: (1) record contained corroborating physical evidence to support testimony of rape victim that defendant was culprit; and (2) trial court gave appropriate instructions to jury to base verdict only on evidence presented at trial.