This report on the proceedings of the ninth meeting of the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence updates Commission business and presents reports on the activities of the Commission's working groups, along with related discussions and presentations.
The update on Commission business reports on the staff's activities as a resource for much of the pending legislation at the Federal and State levels that relates to issues raised and policies developed by the Commission. The report of the Post-conviction Working Group discusses the influence of the working group's model statute intended for State legislatures to consider, review, and use in any way they see fit. The report of the Research and Development Working Group updates the Human Genome Project, which should provide information on new loci. Other scientific advances in the DNA domain are also mentioned in the report. The report of the Crime Scene Investigation Working Group indicates that another 500,000 copies are being printed of the instructional pamphlet that guides first responders and criminalists in protecting, detecting, collecting, and preserving DNA crime-scene evidence. The report and discussion of the Legal Issues Working Group indicates that it will provide the content for a legal symposium that will consider legal issues related to privacy in the collection and use of a person's DNA. The report of the Laboratory Funding Working Group pertains to the input it has provided to a congressional committee regarding the importance and amount of funding for forensic laboratories that can assist in eliminating or reducing the backlog for DNA testing and analysis. The meeting's agenda also included a review of forensic DNA legislation passed in 2000 and the post-conviction model statute. The meeting's transcript contains participant comments and questions about the reports.