Abstract
“I get a sinking feeling when I hear a client has been fingered by a DNA test,” a defense
lawyer recently told us. “Seems there’s not much I can do but negotiate a guilty plea.”
Promoters of forensic DNA testing have done a good job selling the public, and even
many criminal defense lawyers, on the idea that DNA tests provide a unique and infalli-
ble identification. DNA evidence has sent thousands of people to prison and, in recent
years, has played a vital role in exonerating men who were falsely convicted. Even for-
mer critics of DNA testing, like Barry Scheck, are widely quoted attesting to the reliabil-
ity of the DNA evidence in their cases. It is easy to assume that any past problems with
DNA evidence have been worked out and that the tests are now unassailable.
lawyer recently told us. “Seems there’s not much I can do but negotiate a guilty plea.”
Promoters of forensic DNA testing have done a good job selling the public, and even
many criminal defense lawyers, on the idea that DNA tests provide a unique and infalli-
ble identification. DNA evidence has sent thousands of people to prison and, in recent
years, has played a vital role in exonerating men who were falsely convicted. Even for-
mer critics of DNA testing, like Barry Scheck, are widely quoted attesting to the reliabil-
ity of the DNA evidence in their cases. It is easy to assume that any past problems with
DNA evidence have been worked out and that the tests are now unassailable.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 16-25 |
| Journal | The Champion |
| Volume | 27 |
| State | Published - Apr 2003 |
Disciplines
- Communication Technology and New Media
- Databases and Information Systems
- OS and Networks
- Science and Technology Studies
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Bioinformatics
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Forensic Science and Technology