This report on the proceedings of the second meeting of the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence contains the meeting's agenda, individual and working group presentations, and the transcript of participant comments and questions.
In a progress report, the chairperson of the Commission indicated that the Commission's five working task forces have been appointed and two have met. Reports of these meetings were presented at this Commission meeting. The Commission "Message Board" presentation was by a senior writer-editor at the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ), who described the purpose and features of a Web site for the Commission to disseminate and receive communications related to the Commission's work. This was followed by an update of the Commission's Working Group on Research and Development. The Working Group's focus was outlined to include techniques in research and development in the DNA field, DNA databases and statistics, and policy issues. The report of the Commission's Post-conviction Issues Working Group addressed what the Working Group has done and what it is planning to do. It solicited input from Commission members on the scope and objectives of its work. A brief overview was provided on the science of DNA, including a brief description of the various techniques that laboratories are currently using and what the future is likely to bring in this domain. A presentation by Dr. David Werrett, the Director of Research and DNA Services of the United Kingdom's Forensic Science Service addressed his agency's work in building a DNA database beginning in 1984, with attention to the legal framework that was in place and the powers needed to determine the content and uses of the database.