NCJ Number
145181
Journal
Jurimetrics Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 449-488
Date Published
1993
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This article presents an overview and critique of the National Research Council's report on the forensic uses of DNA technology.
Abstract
The article first briefly describes the DNA technique and the history of its use. The history shows the difficulty of trying to put DNA testing on a sounder scientific basis after most courts have accepted it and the technique has been directly or indirectly responsible for several thousand convictions. Following a review of the DNA technique and its forensic history, this article presents the National Research Council's mandate for its study. The Council's committee addressed the general applicability and appropriateness of the use of DNA technology in forensic science; the need to develop standards for data collection and analysis; aspects of the technology; management of typing data; and legal, societal, and ethical issues associated with DNA typing. An overview of the report indicates that it generally endorses DNA technology. It advises, however, that inadequate basic research, insufficient empirical validation, and the lack of objective standards have attended past use of the technology. The report also concludes the current methods of calculating the probability of a random DNA match rest on inadequate data and unjustified assumptions about population substructure. The report further advises that the use of proposed nationwide databases to identify offenders and others poses privacy issues and has potential for misuse of information. This article explains and critiques each chapter of the report.