NCJ Number
146309
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 84 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1993) Pages: 189-202
Date Published
1993
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This essay on forensic DNA litigation focuses on practical problems that arise when two dissimilar disciplines, science and law, collide in the courtroom.
Abstract
DNA evidence often goes unchallenged and unregulated, and some prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have actively and improperly interfered with scientific debate over the limitations and reliability of DNA evidence. Further, some prosecutors use DNA testing as a tool to convict defendants but object when such evidence is offered by an unjustly convicted prisoner to prove his or her innocence. The author notes the lack of standards to assure the quality of DNA evidence and prevailing scientific agreement on the need for a regulatory scheme. He also discusses the reliability of statistical methods in genetic analysis, prosecutorial misconduct, and postconviction DNA testing and exclusions, and concludes that DNA testing can provide definitive evidence of innocence. 49 footnotes