Forensic DNA Transfer

Forensic DNA Transfer PDF Author: Jane Moira Taupin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000970019
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Forensic DNA Transfer provides a guide to the recognition and current understanding of DNA transfer in forensic criminal investigations. Increased improvements in technology mean that it is now routinely possible to obtain DNA profiles from non-visible deposits. How or when the DNA in question was deposited may be an issue in the context of the case, especially if the donor of the DNA is not in dispute. A DNA profile alone cannot reveal when or how that DNA was deposited at a crime scene, nor can it reveal the body matter from which it originated. Issues of transfer associated with activities may be debated—which the traditional discrimination purpose of DNA profiling cannot address. DNA may be everywhere and anywhere—in homes, at workplaces, during transport, and on personal items including clothing. DNA from a person may be on an object they have never contacted or in a room they have never entered. Concepts discussed in the book include non-self DNA on hands through day-to-day activities, the prevalence of background DNA in the environment and perhaps on the exhibit, the persistence of any DNA transferred, and that a DNA result will depend on these variables as well as recovery techniques. Since DNA may be transferred to an exhibit: (a) during the commission of a crime, (b) before the crime, and/or (c) after the crime through handling, examination, and testing, this book covers various transfer pathways and sources of DNA. Documented cases of inadvertent transfer of DNA resulting in wrongful convictions or the misdirection of criminal investigations are discussed—with an emphasis on contamination mitigation throughout the entire process. Forensic DNA Transfer examines the additional complexity resulting from non-visible deposits of DNA that impact on sampling and testing regimes. The changing understanding of the composition of purported 'touch DNA' deposits from the skin, including extracellular DNA transported via body secretions, is described. Further, the newer focus on interpreting DNA evidence—using activity level propositions and the rationale and associated issues—is also discussed.

Forensic DNA Transfer

Forensic DNA Transfer PDF Author: Jane Moira Taupin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000970019
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Forensic DNA Transfer provides a guide to the recognition and current understanding of DNA transfer in forensic criminal investigations. Increased improvements in technology mean that it is now routinely possible to obtain DNA profiles from non-visible deposits. How or when the DNA in question was deposited may be an issue in the context of the case, especially if the donor of the DNA is not in dispute. A DNA profile alone cannot reveal when or how that DNA was deposited at a crime scene, nor can it reveal the body matter from which it originated. Issues of transfer associated with activities may be debated—which the traditional discrimination purpose of DNA profiling cannot address. DNA may be everywhere and anywhere—in homes, at workplaces, during transport, and on personal items including clothing. DNA from a person may be on an object they have never contacted or in a room they have never entered. Concepts discussed in the book include non-self DNA on hands through day-to-day activities, the prevalence of background DNA in the environment and perhaps on the exhibit, the persistence of any DNA transferred, and that a DNA result will depend on these variables as well as recovery techniques. Since DNA may be transferred to an exhibit: (a) during the commission of a crime, (b) before the crime, and/or (c) after the crime through handling, examination, and testing, this book covers various transfer pathways and sources of DNA. Documented cases of inadvertent transfer of DNA resulting in wrongful convictions or the misdirection of criminal investigations are discussed—with an emphasis on contamination mitigation throughout the entire process. Forensic DNA Transfer examines the additional complexity resulting from non-visible deposits of DNA that impact on sampling and testing regimes. The changing understanding of the composition of purported 'touch DNA' deposits from the skin, including extracellular DNA transported via body secretions, is described. Further, the newer focus on interpreting DNA evidence—using activity level propositions and the rationale and associated issues—is also discussed.

Inside the Cell

Inside the Cell PDF Author: Erin E Murphy
Publisher: Bold Type Books
ISBN: 1568584709
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
Josiah Sutton was convicted of rape. He was five inches shorter and 65 pounds lighter than the suspect described by the victim, but at trial a lab analyst testified that his DNA was found at the crime scene. His case looked like many others -- arrest, swab, match, conviction. But there was just one problem -- Sutton was innocent. We think of DNA forensics as an infallible science that catches the bad guys and exonerates the innocent. But when the science goes rogue, it can lead to a gross miscarriage of justice. Erin Murphy exposes the dark side of forensic DNA testing: crime labs that receive little oversight and produce inconsistent results; prosecutors who push to test smaller and poorer-quality samples, inviting error and bias; law-enforcement officers who compile massive, unregulated, and racially skewed DNA databases; and industry lobbyists who push policies of "stop and spit." DNA testing is rightly seen as a transformative technological breakthrough, but we should be wary of placing such a powerful weapon in the hands of the same broken criminal justice system that has produced mass incarceration, privileged government interests over personal privacy, and all too often enforced the law in a biased or unjust manner. Inside the Cell exposes the truth about forensic DNA, and shows us what it will take to harness the power of genetic identification in service of accuracy and fairness.

DNA Technology in Forensic Science

DNA Technology in Forensic Science PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309045878
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Matching DNA samples from crime scenes and suspects is rapidly becoming a key source of evidence for use in our justice system. DNA Technology in Forensic Science offers recommendations for resolving crucial questions that are emerging as DNA typing becomes more widespread. The volume addresses key issues: Quality and reliability in DNA typing, including the introduction of new technologies, problems of standardization, and approaches to certification. DNA typing in the courtroom, including issues of population genetics, levels of understanding among judges and juries, and admissibility. Societal issues, such as privacy of DNA data, storage of samples and data, and the rights of defendants to quality testing technology. Combining this original volume with the new update-The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence-provides the complete, up-to-date picture of this highly important and visible topic. This volume offers important guidance to anyone working with this emerging law enforcement tool: policymakers, specialists in criminal law, forensic scientists, geneticists, researchers, faculty, and students.

A Guide to Forensic DNA Profiling

A Guide to Forensic DNA Profiling PDF Author: Scott Bader
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118751515
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 951

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Book Description
The increasingly arcane world of DNA profiling demands that those needing to understand at least some of it must find a source of reliable and understandable information. Combining material from the successful Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science with newly commissioned and updated material, the Editors have used their own extensive experience in criminal casework across the world to compile an informative guide that will provide knowledge and thought-provoking articles of interest to anyone involved or interested in the use of DNA in the forensic context. Following extensive introductory chapters covering forensic DNA profiling and forensic genetics, this comprehensive volume presents a substantial breadth of material covering: Fundamental material – including sources of DNA, validation, and accreditation Analysis and interpretation – including, extraction, quantification, amplification and interpretation of electropherograms (epgs) Evaluation – including mixtures, low template, and transfer Applications – databases, paternity and kinship, mitochondrial-DNA, wildlife DNA, single-nucleotide polymorphism, phenotyping and familial searching Court - report writing, discovery, cross examination, and current controversies With contributions from leading experts across the whole gamut of forensic science, this volume is intended to be authoritative but not authoritarian, informative but comprehensible, and comprehensive but concise. It will prove to be a valuable addition, and useful resource, for scientists, lawyers, teachers, criminologists, and judges.

Forensic DNA Trace Evidence Interpretation

Forensic DNA Trace Evidence Interpretation PDF Author: Duncan Taylor
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000801411
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 565

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Book Description
Forensic DNA Trace Evidence Interpretation: Activity Level Propositions and Likelihood Ratios provides all foundational information required for a reader to understand the practice of evaluating forensic biology evidence given activity level propositions and to implement the practice into active casework within a forensic institution. The book begins by explaining basic concepts and foundational theory, pulling together research and studies that have accumulated in forensic journal literature over the last 20 years. The book explains the laws of probability - showing how they can be used to derive, from first principles, the likelihood ratio - used throughout the book to express the strength of evidence for any evaluation. Concepts such as the hierarchy of propositions, the difference between experts working in an investigative or evaluative mode and the practice of case assessment and interpretation are explained to provide the reader with a broad grounding in the topics that are important to understanding evaluation of evidence. Activity level evaluations are discussed in relation to biological material transferred from one object to another, the ability for biological material to persist on an item for a period of time or through an event, the ability to recover the biological material from the object when sampled for forensic testing and the expectations of the prevalence of biological material on objects in our environment. These concepts of transfer, persistence, prevalence and recovery are discussed in detail in addition to the factors that affect each of them. The authors go on to explain the evaluation process: how to structure case information and formulate propositions. This includes how a likelihood ratio formula can be derived to evaluate the forensic findings, introducing Bayesian networks and explaining what they represent and how they can be used in evaluations and showing how evaluation can be tested for robustness. Using these tools, the authors also demonstrate the ways that the methods used in activity level evaluations are applied to questions about body fluids. There are also chapters dedicated to reporting of results and implementation of activity level evaluation in a working forensic laboratory. Throughout the book, four cases are used as examples to demonstrate how to relate the theory to practice and detail how laboratories can integrate and implement activity level evaluation into their active casework.

Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Interpretation

Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Interpretation PDF Author: John M. Butler
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 012405854X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 609

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Book Description
Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Interpretation builds upon the previous two editions of John Butler’s internationally acclaimed Forensic DNA Typing textbook with forensic DNA analysts as its primary audience. Intended as a third-edition companion to the Fundamentals of Forensic DNA Typing volume published in 2010 and Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Methodology published in 2012, this book contains 16 chapters with 4 appendices providing up-to-date coverage of essential topics in this important field. Over 80 % of the content of this book is new compared to previous editions. Provides forensic DNA analysts coverage of the crucial topic of DNA mixture interpretation and statistical analysis of DNA evidence Worked mixture examples illustrate the impact of different statistical approaches for reporting results Includes allele frequencies for 24 commonly used autosomal STR loci, the revised Quality Assurance Standards which went into effect September 2011

The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence

The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309134404
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
In 1992 the National Research Council issued DNA Technology in Forensic Science, a book that documented the state of the art in this emerging field. Recently, this volume was brought to worldwide attention in the murder trial of celebrity O. J. Simpson. The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence reports on developments in population genetics and statistics since the original volume was published. The committee comments on statements in the original book that proved controversial or that have been misapplied in the courts. This volume offers recommendations for handling DNA samples, performing calculations, and other aspects of using DNA as a forensic toolâ€"modifying some recommendations presented in the 1992 volume. The update addresses two major areas: Determination of DNA profiles. The committee considers how laboratory errors (particularly false matches) can arise, how errors might be reduced, and how to take into account the fact that the error rate can never be reduced to zero. Interpretation of a finding that the DNA profile of a suspect or victim matches the evidence DNA. The committee addresses controversies in population genetics, exploring the problems that arise from the mixture of groups and subgroups in the American population and how this substructure can be accounted for in calculating frequencies. This volume examines statistical issues in interpreting frequencies as probabilities, including adjustments when a suspect is found through a database search. The committee includes a detailed discussion of what its recommendations would mean in the courtroom, with numerous case citations. By resolving several remaining issues in the evaluation of this increasingly important area of forensic evidence, this technical update will be important to forensic scientists and population geneticistsâ€"and helpful to attorneys, judges, and others who need to understand DNA and the law. Anyone working in laboratories and in the courts or anyone studying this issue should own this book.

Using Forensic DNA Evidence at Trial

Using Forensic DNA Evidence at Trial PDF Author: Jane Moira Taupin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1315360683
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Using Forensic DNA Evidence at Trial: A Case Study Approach covers the most common DNA analysis methods used in criminal trials today, including STR techniques, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-STRs. It presents some novel techniques—including familial testing and analyzing domestic animal hair—that have been recently introduced in unique cases, each of which is outlined in detail. It also illustrates special issues related to forensic DNA evidence by using court proceedings such as trials and appeals, commissions of inquiry, and government and laboratory reviews. With forensic DNA analysis becoming increasingly important at trial, the lively and sometimes bizarre cases presented in this book have been carefully chosen to highlight specific concepts, methods, and interpretations used in DNA analysis. Sections throughout examine the nature of expertise with a special focus on the role of subjectivity in the interpretation of forensic DNA evidence, emphasizing cognitive bias and extraneous context. Using both convictions and exonerations as examples, the book also discusses the strengths and limitations of DNA evidence and testing. The book is written in an accessible manner for the non-scientific reader, such that criminal lawyers, judges, and forensic experts will all understand the nature of analysis and application of DNA evidence in a variety of court cases. Extensive references—including notable trial proceedings, cross references of cases, and specific forensic statistics—round out the book and help to provide a complete understanding of forensic DNA analysis and its current usage in the courtroom.

Misleading DNA Evidence

Misleading DNA Evidence PDF Author: Peter Gill
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0124172202
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
Misleading DNA Evidence: A Guide for Scientists, Judges, and Lawyers presents the reasons miscarriages of justice can occur when dealing with DNA, what the role of the forensic scientist is throughout the process, and how judges and lawyers can educate themselves about all of the possibilities to consider when dealing with cases that involve DNA evidence. DNA has become the gold standard by which a person can be placed at the scene of a crime, and the past decade has seen great advances in this powerful crime solving tool. But the statistics that analysts can attach to DNA evidence often vary, and in some cases the statistical weight assigned to that match, can vary enormously. The numbers provided to juries often overstate the evidence, and can result in a wrongful conviction. In addition to statistics, the way the evidence is collected, stored and analyzed can also result in a wrongful conviction due to contamination. This book reviews high-profile and somewhat contentious cases to illustrate these points, including the death of Meredith Kercher. It examines crucial topics such as characterization of errors and determination of error rates, reporting DNA profiles and the source and sub-source levels, and the essentials of statement writing. It is a concise, readable resource that will help not only scientists, but legal professionals with limited scientific backgrounds, to understand the intricacies of DNA use in the justice system. Ideal reference for scientists and for those without extensive scientific backgrounds Written by one of the pioneers in forensic DNA typing and interpretation of DNA profiling results Ideal format for travel, court environments, or wherever easy access to reference material is vital

Interpreting Complex Forensic DNA Evidence

Interpreting Complex Forensic DNA Evidence PDF Author: Jane Moira Taupin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351023764
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 117

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Book Description
Interpreting Complex Forensic DNA Evidence is a handy guide to recent advances—and emerging issues—in interpreting complex DNA evidence and profiles for use in criminal investigations. In certain cases, DNA cannot be connected to a specific biological material such as blood, semen or saliva. How or when the DNA was deposited may be an issue. The possibility of generating DNA profiles from touched objects, where there may not be a visible deposit, has expanded the scope and number of exhibits submitted for DNA analysis. With such advances, and increasing improvements in technological capabilities in testing samples, this means it is possible to detect ever smaller amounts of DNA. There are also many efforts underway to seek was to interpret DNA profiles that are sub-optimal—either relative to the amount required by the testing kit and, potentially, the quality of the obtained sample. Laboratories often use enhancements in order to obtain a readable DNA profile. The broad-reaching implications of improving DNA sensitivity have led to this next, emerging generation of more complex profiles. Examples partial profiles that do not faithfully reflect the proposed donor, or mixtures of partial DNA from multiple people. A complexity threshold has been proposed to limit interpretation of poor-quality data. Research is now addressing the interpretation of transfer of trace amounts of DNA. Complex issues are arising in trial that need to be reconciled as such complexity has added challenges to the interpretation of evidence and its introduction or dismissal in certain cases in the courts. Key Features: Addresses DNA transfer, from person-to-person as well as to objects Outlines each stage required to produce a DNA profile from an exhibit—including collection, handling, storage, and analysis Discusses ethics, subjectivity, and bias—including cognitive dissonance—as they relate specifically to complex DNA evidence Highlights current techniques and the latest advances in DNA analysis, including advances in familial DNA searches Interpreting Complex Forensic DNA Evidence provides tools to assist the criminal investigator, forensic expert, and legal professional when posed with a DNA result in a forensic report or testimony. The result—and any associated statistic—may not reveal any ambiguity, complexity, or the assumptions involved in deriving it. Questions from resolved criminal cases are posed, and the relevant forensic literature, provided for the reader to assess a DNA result and any associated statistic. Case studies throughout illustrate concepts and emphasize the need for conclusions in the forensic report that are supported by the data.