What DNA 'Fingerprinting' Can Teach the Law About the Rest of Forensic Science

Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 13, pp. 361-372, 1991

12 Pages Posted: 10 Jul 2009 Last revised: 17 May 2014

Date Written: 1991

Abstract

The most important legacy of DNA 'fingerprinting' and the debate surrounding it will likely be a spillover of standards of empirical testing and statistical rigor to many other forensic sciences which, somehow, have exempted themselves from the conventional standards of scientific rigor. In short, the debate over DNA fingerprinting may compel the rest of forensic science to become more recognizably scientific. The purpose of this paper is to suggest the lessons to be learned by and about the rest of forensic science from the admirable model provided by the way the legal, academic, scientific, and forensic science communities have treated genetic fingerprinting.

Keywords: Fingerprinting, DNA, forensic science

Suggested Citation

Koehler, Jonathan J. and Saks, Michael J., What DNA 'Fingerprinting' Can Teach the Law About the Rest of Forensic Science (1991). Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 13, pp. 361-372, 1991, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1432621

Jonathan J. Koehler

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law ( email )

375 E. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

Michael J. Saks (Contact Author)

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law ( email )

111 E. Taylor Street
MC-9520
Phoenix, AZ 85004
United States

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