Opinion ID: 2218963
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Future Use of Forensic DNA Analysis

Text: We join our colleagues in concluding that RFLP-based forensic analysis is today generally accepted as reliable. We know that, in principle, DNA polymorphisms provide a reliable method of comparing samples, that other than identical twins, each person has unique DNA, and that the current laboratory procedures for detecting DNA sequence variations are fundamentally sound. While the general acceptability of these techniques is no longer an open question, and trial courts may take judicial notice of their reliability, the adequacy of the methods used to acquire and analyze samples must be resolved case by case. As new forensic procedures are developed, Frye hearings will have to be conducted to assess the reliability of those methods. The NRC panel called for formal quality-control programs in all laboratories, called on Congress to require external accreditation and proficiency testing of laboratories by a governmental body, and recommended the establishment of a National Committee on Forensic DNA Typing to provide scientific and technical advice on new methods of DNA typing and related issues as they arise (Annas, Setting Standards for the Use of DNA-Typing Results in the Courtroom  The State of the Art , 326 N Eng J of Med 1641, 1642). Such a call is a useful reminder, even in 1994. As the NRC recommended: [f]orensic DNA analysis should be governed by the highest standards of scientific rigor in analysis and interpretation. Such high standards are appropriate for two reasons: the probative power of DNA typing can be so great that it can outweigh all other evidence in a trial; and the procedures for DNA typing are complex, and judges and juries cannot properly weigh and evaluate conclusions based on differing standards of rigor. (NRC § 2.1.) Accordingly, we would affirm defendant's conviction, but only because, in the unusual circumstances of this case, the erroneous admission of the DNA evidence was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Order affirmed.