Prince
Prince v. Superior Court
Opinion
Opinion
Todd, J.
Cleophus Prince petitions for a writ of mandate or prohibition after the trial court ordered prosecution access to defense deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing of semen obtained from a vaginal swab of a murder victim.
Background
In 1990, Tiffany Shultz, Janene Weinhold, Holly Tarr and Pamela and Amber Clark were found murdered in their homes in the general Clairemont area. Police believe Prince is responsible for the five killings and a sixth homicide in another area of San Diego.
On February 16, 1990, police officers responded to a report Janene Weinhold had been found murdered in her Clairemont apartment. Investigating officers collected a semen stain from a comforter near the victim’s body. San Diego criminalist Larry Turner examined the stain and divided the sample into three parts. He believed each of the parts contained a sufficient sample for DNA typing. He forwarded one of the samples to Cellmark Diagnostics to conduct DNA analysis. He sent a second portion of the semen stain to the FBI laboratory in Washington, D.C., for DNA testing. The FBI reported the sample insufficient in size for matching purposes but perhaps usable to exclude suspects. During 1990 and…