NCJ Number
130686
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 60 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1991) Pages: 26-32
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Forensic DNA profiling has been admitted by an overwhelming majority of the courts considering it and should soon be routinely accepted as evidence as long as it receives the continued strong support of the scientific community, prosecuting attorneys, and investigators and despite increasing challenges by defense attorneys.
Abstract
Despite the many favorable decisions regarding the admissibility of DNA evidence, challenged evidence must continue to undergo a pretrial review, at least until a court of appeals in the same jurisdiction addresses the question of whether DNA evidence is acceptable. At such hearings, challenges to the evidence focus on the ability of the forensic laboratories to match similar DNA profiles reliably and, thereafter, the ability to assess the frequency that the matched profile is expected to occur in the general population. Courts have adopted either the Frye standard or the relevancy standard when considering admissibility, and a New York trial court recently expanded these traditional approaches when it focused on whether a laboratory properly applied the technique. Investigators should be aware that DNA evidence is just one factor in identification and does not positively identify an individual. However, its use will increase the efficiency of criminal investigations and trials. 33 reference notes