Bulletin: Forensic Statistical Tool: A judge has decided that this type of DNA testing done by the New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for almost 10 years does not have enough acceptance in the relevant scientific community to make its findings admissible. New York Law Journal;

"After about two and a half years of litigation, including live testimony from 11 scientists, Acting Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Mark Dwyer decided not to admit so-called "lower copy number" or "high-sensitivity" analysis. Dwyer said that the New York Medical Examiner is the only public laboratory in the United States that employs the technique in criminal cases. After presiding over hearings for two separate cases that were joined for purposes of a Frye hearing, Dwyer also refused to admit evidence produced by a second, newer technique, called "Forensic Statistical Tool." He ruled from the bench in November 2014 and issued a written decision on July 2 explaining his reasoning. Under Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013, scientific analysis is admissible "only if the relevant scientific community generally (though not necessarily unanimously) considers those methods to be reliable," Dwyer said.........Dwyer's decision broke from other rulings on the admissibility of evidence generated by the two techniques, making him the first state judge known to preclude such evidence, according to Jessica Goldthwaite, a Legal Aid Society's DNA Unit staff attorney, who was a member of the defense.........One of the cases before Dwyer had to do with low-copy number analysis and forensic statistical tool calculations on DNA swabs of handlebars on a bicycle found at a 2010 shooting scene. Jaquon Collins pleaded guilty in March to second-degree assault and was sentenced to six years. Another case involved forensic statistical tool analysis of standard DNA test results on a bra in an alleged 2010 sexual assault. Andrew Peaks is awaiting trial in People v. Andrew Peaks, 7689/2010, scheduled for next month.........Barry Scheck, a member of the New York State Forensic Science Commission and a co-director of the Innocence Project, said Dwyer's decision was "well reasoned and welcome" and his opinion "carries enormous weight." Scheck said he has been concerned about high sensitivity DNA testing for several years and publicly expressed his concerns at forensic science meetings. He also noted "the Innocence Project has recently taken the position that it does not want OCME to use low copy number testing on any of its cases.""

 http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202732139126/Judge-Rejects-Medical-Examiners-DNA-Technique?slreturn=20150615123241