The Implications of DNA Profiling
Former attorney General Janet Reno described our system of justice as a search for the truth.(1) Increasingly, the forensic use of DNA technology is an important ally in that search. DNA fingerprinting, better known in the scientific realm as DNA profiling, has given police and the courts a means of identifying the perpetrators of rapes and murders with a very high degree of confidence. However, nine years after its introduction, forensic DNA typing is still used only selectively. This is due to a variety of factors, including the unavailability of forensic typing to local prosecutors, the time required to perform the typing, and the costs of the tests if private laboratories are utilized. Formerly used only in research labs, DNA fingerprinting has recently made headlines in the media due to the spectacle of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, where DNA tests played a crucial role. While DNA profiling is being used more and more to help convict as well as exonerate potential suspects in criminal cases, the jury is still out in terms of the role DNA will eventually play in the legal system. The broad ramifications of DNA fingerprinting, especially concerns over its misuse, have raised serious moral and ethical dilemmas.
The process of DNA Fingerprinting: How and Why It Works
DNA is the master molecule of life and controls the growth and development of every living thing. Except for identical twins, the sequence of the base pairs within the DNA helix is unique for every person, and forms the individual's genetic code or blueprint.(2) An individual's DNA remains the same throughout life, and it is a person's unique genetic code that allows scientists to identify an individual to the exclusion o...
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6. Ibid., 37.
7. David F. Betsch, "DNA Fingerprinting in Human Health and Society," Genentech's Access Excellence, http://esg~www.mit.edu.8001/esgbio/rdna/fingerprint.html, (June 1994).
8. "DNA Fingerprinting," Newton's Apple, http://ericir.sir.edu/projects/Newton/13/lessons/dna.html, (October 1994).
9. Betsch, 2.
10. Coleman and Swenson, 62.
11. Ibid., 62.
12. T. Burke, G. Dolf, A.J. Jeffreys, and R. Wolf, eds., DNA Fingerprinting: Approaches and Applications (Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 1991), 1.
13. Alan M. Dershowitz, Reasonable Doubts (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 46.
14. Coleman and Swenson, 93.
15. Dershowitz, 30.
16. Coleman and Swenson, 97.
17. Connors et al., 25.
18. Coleman and Swenson, 5.
19. Ibid., 9.
20. Ibid., 9.
21. Ibid., 10.
22. Ibid., 111.
23. Ibid., 111.
24. Ibid., 111.
One similarity between Jefferson’s letter and the United States Constitution is that they all grant freedom of worship. The Constitution grants Americans freedom of religion implying that a person can worship who, whenever or wherever they wish to worship as long as they do not interfere with the rights of other people. Jefferson’s letter, on the other hand, granted freedom to the Danbury Baptist Church stating that the government would not interfere with their means of worship in any way. Jefferson’s letter further promised that the government would not favor
As we learned this week, DNA databases are used by various governmental agencies for several different purposes. We all have seen new magazine shows such as, 20/20 or Dateline, that show the collection of DNA samples from suspects in a case that is compared to those collected at the scene of the crime. But what happens when the sample is an incomplete match, compromised, or contaminated? The answer is the wrongful conviction of innocent citizens. The case that I have decided to highlight, is the wrongful conviction of Herman Atkins. In 1986, Atkins was convicted of two counts of forcible rape, two counts of oral copulation, and robbery in the state of California. It was alleged that Herman entered a shoe store, and raped, beat, and robbed a
While Jefferson was attending to his preordained duties, he was approached by a Brazilian student at Montpelier who requested United States support for Brazilian independence. In his letter to John Jay, Thomas Jefferson describes Brazil's situation, the disposition of Brazilians to start a rebellion for independence, and its natural resources. This letter contains Jefferson's account of his communications with the native as well as his discussion with a Mexican prior to his encounter with the Brazilian.
“Jeffersons Influence on the United States -Program No. 35.” VOA Learning English. n.p. n.d. Web. 25 March 2014.
“DNA Testing and the Death Penalty.” ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union. 3 Oct. 2011. Web. 22 April 2014.
Nowadays, DNA is a crucial component of a crime scene investigation, used to both to identify perpetrators from crime scenes and to determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence (Butler, 2005). The method of constructing a distinctive “fingerprint” from an individual’s DNA was first described by Alec Jeffreys in 1985. He discovered regions of repetitions of nucleotides inherent in DNA strands that differed from person to person (now known as variable number of tandem repeats, or VNTRs), and developed a technique to adjust the length variation into a definitive identity marker (Butler, 2005). Since then, DNA fingerprinting has been refined to be an indispensible source of evidence, expanded into multiple methods befitting different types of DNA samples. One of the more controversial practices of DNA forensics is familial DNA searching, which takes partial, rather than exact, matches between crime scene DNA and DNA stored in a public database as possible leads for further examination and information about the suspect. Using familial DNA searching for investigative purposes is a reliable and advantageous method to convict criminals.
Abstract; This paper explors the effects DNA fingerprinting has had on the trial courts and legal institutions. Judge Joseph Harris states that it is the "single greatest advance in the search for truth since the advent of the cross examination (Gest, 1988)." And I tend to agree with Judge Joseph's assertion, but with the invention and implementation of DNA profiling and technology has come numerous problems. This paper will explore: how DNA evidence was introduced into the trial courts, the effects of DNA evidence on the jury system and the future of DNA evidence in the trial courts.
...ide evidence to a jury. The jury discusses the evidence that was provided and make a decision, which all have to agree on. The evidence has to be beyond a reasonable doubt. I just can not believe that people can get convicted of a crime if their DNA is not present at a crime. With that being said, I feel that DNA profiling is a great technique to use to convict a guilty person for the crime they committed or to exonerate an innocent person for the crime they did not commit.
...old, Johnson. (2004). U.S. Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs: A Look at the Present and a Vision for the Future. American Annals of Deaf, 149, 75-91.
Prime, Raymond J., and Jonathan Newman. "The Impact of DNA on Policing: Past, Present, and
Singer, Julie A. "The Impact Of Dna And Other Technology On The Criminal Justice System: Improvements And Complications."Albany Law Journal Of Science & Technology 17.(2007): 87. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
National Center for Learning Disabilities. Minority Students Special Education. Retrieved April 18, 2003, from http://www.ncld.org/advocacy/MinorityStudents.pdf
Between misplacing priorities and self-absorption Mathilde Loisel is created in the story, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Mathilde has just about everything a woman could want: remarkable beauty, a loving husband, and a comfortable lifestyle. Material riches are the only category in which she believes she is inadequate to other women. This one factor sets up the conflict present in the story. Throughout the turmoil she must endure, due to her egotistical ways, one would think she would have a change in heart and mindset. Mathilde has a dissatisfied disposition that does not evolve even as her situation does; she is disgruntled being in the middle class, as well as attending a first class event, and ultimately being in the working class.
The United States is expecting drastic changes in the diversity of its population over the next 50 years. Minorities will become a larger portion of the country’s population. Changes will need to be made to the way our country operates, especially in education. New, innovative and inclusive ways of teaching will replace traditional methods. For these new changes to go smoothly, steps will be taken to implement diverse populations in schools, helping students benefit from the values of other cultures while learning to live along side each other. The competitive and biased curriculums will take back seat to new ones that cater to all members of the population, leaving behind disruptive and antisocial behaviors. And finally, the teacher population will become as diverse as the student counterpart, creating more chances for students to identify with their leaders. This research paper will identify problematic situations for educational diversity as well as examine the effectiveness of diverse populations in classroom settings with respect to the development of student's world skills and understanding, openness and tolerance of diversity.
The scientific and medical progress of DNA as been emense, from involving the identification of our genes that trigger major diseases or the creation and manufacture of drugs to treat these diseases. DNA has many significant uses to society, health and culture of today. One important area of DNA research is that used for genetic and medical research. Our abi...