DNA Technology in Forensic Science (1992) / Chapter Skim
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7 DNA TYPING AND SOCIETY
7 DNA TYPING AND SOCIETY
Pages 152-164
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From page 152... ...
DNA typing technology has the potential for uncovering and revealing a great deal of information that most people consider to be intensely private. The federally established human genome program will yield an unprecedented amount of genetic information and generate new databanks.)
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From page 153... ...
It might not be feasible or appropriate for some small forensic science laboratories to create their own DNA testing capabilities. A major DNA testing center run by the FBI might reduce costs to smaller localities.
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From page 154... ...
The committee believes that the expenditures are warranted by the advantages to be expected. ETHICAL ASPECTS Ethical considerations regarding the use of DNA technology in forensic science overlap with various issues addressed in social and legal analyses,5 including substantive and procedural rights of people and overall nonmonetary costs and benefits likely to result from establishing the use of the new technology in courtroom proceedings.
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From page 155... ...
. If the use of DNA information can be strictly limited to defendant identification, it involves no greater intrusion into the privacy of an accused person than do traditional methods in forensic science, whose aim is to make as definitive an identification as possible.
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From page 156... ...
Nonmonetary Costs and Benefits The ethical perspective by which actions or practices are evaluated in terms of their good and bad consequences is fundamentally sound. Nevertheless, it suffers from both theoretical and practical difficulties.3 Not only is it difficult to predict good and bad results in advance of gathering sufficient evidence about projected consequences, but it is also sometimes hard to weigh consequences, even if they have already come about.
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From page 157... ...
An overall judgment that DNA technology in forensic science is superior to existing forensic methods requires comparing intersubjectively verified scientific evidence on the reliability and validity of the new method with evidence on the other methods. Certainly, as a personal identification method, fingerprinting is the definitive forensic technique and has many advantages.
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From page 158... ...
For example, examination of teeth is useful in identifying deceased persons or bite marks. Providing scientific evidence that DNA technology is at least as reliable as other forensic methods and is therefore more likely to result in definitive identification or exclusion of persons suspected or accused of a crime satisfies both the ethical concerns about individual rights and the conditions of an ethical analysis based on weighing good and bad consequences.
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From page 159... ...
An example of misuse is the use of DNA information for purposes other than forensic in other words, going beyond the intended purpose of collecting and storing the information. A major issue is the preservation of confidentiality of information obtained with DNA technology in the forensic context.5 7 When databanks are established in such a way that state and federal law-enforcement authorities can gain access to DNA profiles, not only of persons convicted of violent crimes but of others as well, there is a serious potential for abuse of confidential information.
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From page 160... ...
Mere cross examination by a defense attorney inexperienced in the science of DNA testing will not be sufficient. Two aspects of DNA typing technology contribute to the likelihood of its raising inappropriate expectations in the minds of jurors.
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From page 161... ...
DNA evidence is not infallible; all laboratory work is subject to error; and, given current population databanks and laboratory protocols, a witness or prosecutor will seldom (if ever) be justified in stating that the probability that a reported DNA match involves someone other than the suspect is so low as to make that possibility entirely implausible.
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From page 162... ...
There has been a notable dearth of published research in forensic DNA testing by scientists unconnected to the companies that market the tests. In contrast with the research approach whereby new drugs and biomedical devices undergo controlled trials of safety and efficacy, forensic science has used more informal modes of evaluating new techniques.
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From page 163... ...
· Mechanisms should be established to ensure the accountability of laboratories and personnel involved in DNA typing and to make appropriate public scrutiny possible. · Organizations that conduct accreditation or regulation of DNA technology for forensic purposes should not be subject to the influence of private companies, public laboratories, or other organizations actually engaged in laboratory work.
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From page 164... ...
4. DNA Report of New York State Forensic Analysis Panel.
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