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In re Morton

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 64.01(b) requires that, for DNA testing to be ordered under chapter 64, the evidence must be secured in relation to the offense that is the basis of the challenged conviction. Evidence collected in connection with the investigation of a separate murder was not, and has not been, secured in relation to the murder in this case. Therefore, the court affirmed the district court's denial of appellant's motion to have DNA testing performed on biological evidence collected from the scene of the other murder. Austin Court of Appeals, No. 03-08-00585-CR, 01-08-2010

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OPINION

In 1987, appellant Michael Wayne Morton was convicted of the murder of his wife Christine Morton, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2005, pursuant to chapter 64 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, appellant filed a motion for forensic DNA testing of evidence containing biological material that appellant believes may undermine the basis for his conviction. The district court denied, in part, appellant’s motion for DNA testing. Appellant appeals the district court’s denial of certain testing. We affirm the district court’s order as to the evidence collected in connection with a separate, but similar, murder because such evidence was not secured in relation to Christine’s murder as required by chapter 64. We further affirm the order as to the fingerprint evidence at issue because such evidence does not contain biological material as required for an order under chapter 64. However, we reverse the district court’s order as to the blood-stained bandana recovered from behind the Mortons’ house because appellant has established by a preponderance of the evidence that he would not have been convicted if exculpatory results were obtained through such testing. We remand the cause to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Factual and Procedural Background

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