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45 U. Miami L. Rev. 243 (1990-1991)
DNA Fingerprinting: Is It Ready for Trial

handle is hein.journals/umialr45 and id is 255 raw text is: DNA Fingerprinting: Is It Ready for Trial? I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................... 243 II. O VERVIEW .............................................................. 245 A. History of DNA Fingerprinting ....................................... 245 B. The Frye v. United States Standard .................................. 247 C. Frye Applied to DNA Fingerprinting .................................. 250 III. PEOPLE V. CASTRO ....................................................... 252 IV. ADDRESSING THE PREJUDICIAL NATURE PROBLEM ........................ 255 V . CONCLUSION ... ......................................................... 259 I. INTRODUCTION There is a tendency for society to blindly accept new technology, especially technology designed to enhance the quality of life. In our increasingly crime-burdened cities, people jump at methods that can identify perpetrators conclusively. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology, when used correctly, allows for unquestioned identifica- tion of evidentiary samples recovered from crimes scenes when com- pared to samples from a defendant.' As no two people, other than identical twins, have the same genetic structure,' DNA fingerprinting tests, when properly conducted, provide the mechanism through which this technology may be applied. Although the theory supporting DNA fingerprinting is generally accepted as capable of producing extremely reliable results,3 and there is little doubt as to the revolutionary effect DNA fingerprinting could potentially have on paternity and criminal cases,4 the process followed in obtaining the results must be carefully examined. Therefore, a New York court in the case of People v. Castro,' correctly and wisely pulled in the reigns on the use of DNA fingerprinting analysis in the courtroom by refusing to admit DNA fingerprinting tests into evi- dence in a murder trial. The theory and technology of DNA fingerprinting far surpass everyday knowledge. In fact, only those specifically trained in molec- ular biology and chemistry can even begin to understand the concepts 1. Thompson & Ford, DNA Typing: Acceptance and Weight of the New Genetic Identification Tests, 75 VA. L. REV. 45, 46 (1989). 2. G. ALEXANDER, GENERAL BIOLOGY 504 (1962). 3. Lewin, DNA Fingerprinting on the Witness Stand, 244 SCIENCE 1033 (1989). 4. Id. 5. People v. Castro, 144 Misc. 2d 956, 540 N.Y.S.2d 985 (Sup. Ct. 1989).

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