Although understanding DNA isn't as easy as A-B-C, the scientific community has satisfactorily proven genetic testing as valid.

With that in mind, murder-trial junkies glued to CNN, Geraldo and Court TV should welcome the recent announcement by O.J. Simpson's lawyers that they will not use a pretrial hearing to fight the scientific reliability of DNA evidence.

Such a hearing would have been a huge waste of time and money.

Even worse, a pretrial hearing would have set a bad precedent for using pretrial hearings as arenas for twisting common knowledge.

Original intentions by Simpson's attorneys to challenge the credibility of genetic science were left-field attempts to unnecessarily confuse an already complex trial.

In 1995, there are some basic facts we can take for granted without lengthy, costly hearings. The earth revolves around the sun, the moon is not made of green cheese and DNA testing is legitimate.

The importance and legitimacy of genetics as evidence in murder trials was illustrated last summer in Centre County when prosecutors used DNA samples to convict James R. Cruz Jr. of murdering a teen-age runaway girl.

What cannot be assumed is that tests of blood samples to be used as evidence in Simpson's trial were conducted properly. But lawyers will have plenty of time to argue that point at the appropriate moment -- during a fair trial before a jury.