Stephanie Hazarus Case Study

In 2009, Defendant-Appellant, Stephanie Lazarus, was convicted of first-degree murder in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County for a crime that occurred in 1986. The case was unsolved until 2009, when a DNA profile obtained from a bite mark on the victim’s arm was matched to Lazarus. Because of the 23-year lapse in time between the crime and her arrest, Lazarus argued that she had suffered a due process violation. Her claim was denied by the Court of Appeal for the Second District of California.

The pertinent facts of this case are as follows: On February 24, 1986, Sheri Rasmussen was found dead in her home, having suffered three fatal gunshots to her chest. There were signs that Rasmussen had struggled with her assailant, as she had multiple contusions and what appeared to be a bite mark on her left inner forearm. The pathologist that examined Rasmussen’s body determined that the bite mark had

Lazarus initially moved to dismiss the case against her on the ground that the delay in filing criminal charges prejudiced her ability to conduct a proper defense. In response, the State argued that because there had been no deliberate, tactical decision to delay prosecuting Lazarus, her rights had not been violated. The Court agreed with the State, holding that because there was no evidence that the delay in arresting Lazarus was intentional or used to gain a tactical advantage, Lazarus could not succeed on a motion to dismiss for violation of due process. Noting that DNA testing is an expensive, cumbersome process that may not always provide for a swift resolution of a criminal investigation, the trial court found that the delay was justifiable since there was a need to properly undertake the DNA testing process before the DNA collected from the bite mark could be matched to