Also known as: DNA profile · DNA profiles · DNA profiled · DNA fingerprinting · genetic fingerprinting · DNA evidence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A method of scientific identification based on a person's unique genetic makeup. The comparison of deoxyribonucleic acid in a biological specimen with a known sample determines whether a particular individual is the source of the specimen.
Dorothy Daniels faced trial for rape. State analyst Dr. Moore testified that a DNA profile generated by an out-of-state laboratory from the victim's fingernails matched a profile the state lab generated from Daniels's blood. Dr. Moore did not perform the out-of-state testing and the report itself was never admitted. The court overruled the confrontation objection because Dr. Moore offered an independent opinion using the profile only as background data.
Darius Dixon stood trial for murder. The prosecution introduced evidence that Dixon's underwear contained a mixture of his blood and the victim's blood while also showing that 99.99 percent of the population other than Dixon and the victim were excluded as contributors. The court admitted the DNA results after finding they reliably linked Dixon to the scene and excluded others.
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Diane Dawson was charged with assault after a hospital attack. A state forensic analyst compared a DNA profile from the victim's fingernails with a profile generated from Dawson's blood sample. The analyst testified that the profiles matched at multiple loci, and the court admitted the testimony after determining the scientific basis satisfied reliability standards for identification evidence.
Delilah Duran sued a pharmaceutical company alleging birth defects from a drug. Plaintiffs offered expert testimony that DNA analysis showed the drug caused the defects. The court evaluated whether the DNA profiling methodology had been tested, subjected to peer review, and possessed a known error rate before deciding admissibility.
An expert may rely on such a profile when it is used only to explain the basis of the expert's independent opinion and is not admitted for its truth. The profile also must not have been prepared primarily to accuse a targeted individual.
No. The expert may perform the comparison and offer an independent opinion when the private laboratory profile serves only as underlying data and is not offered for its truth.
A profile is not testimonial when it was created for a routine non-criminal purpose such as employment screening or inventory security and was not prepared primarily to accuse a targeted individual.
No. Experts may base opinions on data generated by others provided the expert offers an independent judgment and is subject to cross-examination about the reliability of the methods used.
…might be, id. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2797. [^maj-5]: There are, of course, exceptions. Fingerprint analysis, voice recognition, DNA fingerprinting and a variety of other scientific endeavors closely tied to law enforcement may indeed have the courtroom as a principal theatre of operations. See, e.g., United States v. Chischilly , 30…