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Criminal Law

: Grits for Breakfast

Proving innocence, solving cold cases, frequently depend on DNA collection and preservation

By Gritsforbreakfast

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Much of the focus at the 3rd annual "Actual Innocence" conference I attended last week centered on DNA testing which has led to more than 200 recent exonerations nationwide, so I thought I'd share with readers a few items of interest from my notes on the topic.Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jim McLaughlin of the Texas Police Chiefs Association told the crowd that in an ideal world, he'd like to see every infant DNA swabbed at birth. (Why not just tag our ears like cattle, Jim, or inject a RFID chip under our skin and be done with it?)Other speakers described pressures by law enforcement to expand the national DNA database by various means, and a handout in the backup material from USDOJ encouraged expanded use of DNA in property crimes. From a "CSI Effect" perspective that may sound like a good idea, but I don't see how it's pragmatically possible; the labs are overwhelmed trying to fulfill their functions now...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on April 19, 2008 (boomark / email).