Science that did not exist at your trial may now point to someone else. Mueller Law Firm reviews Michigan convictions for proof the jury never saw. Our wrongful conviction lawyer looks past the original verdict to what the evidence shows today.
What New Evidence Can Reopen a Case?
Michigan courts apply strict standards when deciding whether to overturn a felony conviction based on new evidence. To win a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, you generally must show that the evidence itself is new, that it isn’t just cumulative of what the jury already heard, that you could not have found it with reasonable diligence before trial, and that it makes a different result probable at a new trial. Newly discovered evidence may include:
- A DNA result that excludes you
- A witness who takes back earlier testimony, especially when other evidence backs up the new account. Courts view recantations with caution
- Police or lab records that were never turned over to the defense
- Proof that a forensic method was unreliable
A new trial does not require proving you are innocent. Proof of innocence becomes important later, for state compensation and for review by a conviction integrity unit.
What Can Modern DNA Testing Show?
Lab methods have changed since many older Michigan cases went to trial. Today’s tests can often build a profile from smaller or older samples, such as a dried stain or a hair with the root attached.
Labs can also run an unknown profile through CODIS, the FBI’s national DNA database, to look for the actual source. Storage still matters because evidence that has been poorly stored for decades may be too damaged to test.
Post-Conviction DNA Testing in Michigan Today
Michigan’s testing law, MCL 770.16, covers two groups. If you were convicted at trial before January 8, 2001, and are still serving a prison sentence for that conviction, you may petition for testing. If your trial was on or after that date, you qualify only if DNA testing was already done in your case, the results were inconclusive, and current technology is likely to produce a conclusive result.
To get testing ordered, you must show:
- The evidence matters to identity: The biological material must be relevant to who committed the crime, and identity must have been an issue at trial.
- The evidence still exists: A sample must be available to test.
- It hasn’t been tested, or new methods apply: The material was never tested, or it will be tested with technology that wasn’t available when you were convicted.
If the results exclude you, the court holds a hearing. It grants a new trial if those results, together with any other new evidence, make a different outcome probable.
If passed, Michigan House Bill 6092 and Michigan Senate Bill 1035 would expand access to newer testing methods, including touch DNA testing of skin cells left on objects. The proposals would also permit people who pleaded guilty to request testing.
Wrongful Convictions Without DNA Evidence
DNA solves only some of these cases. A national review of exonerations found that misconduct by police and prosecutors played a role well over half of them. Your case will not automatically fail simply because you do not have DNA evidence.
Michigan now has conviction integrity units in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw counties, plus a statewide unit in the Attorney General’s office. These offices reinvestigate innocence claims, while Michigan criminal appeals and new-trial motions still move through the courts.
Start With a File Review From Our Michigan Wrongful Conviction Lawyer
Old lab reports and evidence logs often hold the first sign that a case needs another look. For more than 25 years, Mueller Law Firm has stood up for people pushed around by those in power. Call our office or request a free initial consultation online.
