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74 Neb. L. Rev. 444 (1995)
DNA Evidence in Criminal Trials: A Defense Attorney's Primer

handle is hein.journals/nebklr74 and id is 454 raw text is: Richard A. Nakashima* DNA Evidence in Criminal Trials: A Defense Attorney's Primer TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ........................................... 444 II. Scientific Background .................................. 445 III. Forensic Analysis of DNA Samples ..................... 447 IV. Analysis of the Statistical Significance of the DNA Profile ................................................. 450 V. Admissibility vs. Weight of Evidence ................... 454 VI. Challenging the Admissibility of DNA Evidence Under Frye ..................................... .... 459 VII. Potential Problems with DNA Analysis ................. 463 A. False Negatives and False Positives ................ 463 B. Human Error ...................................... 464 C. Band Shifting ...................................... 465 D. Quality of the DNA Sample ........................ 468 VIII. How to Challenge the Weight of DNA Evidence ......... 470 A. False Positives and Laboratory Error Rates ......... 470 B. Check for Possible Band Shifting ................... 472 C. Attack the Statistical Analysis ...................... 473 IX. Recent Developments .................................. 476 X. Conclusion ............................................ 478 I. INTRODUCTION Over the last six years, forensic DNA analysis has become increas- ingly important in criminal trials. In early cases, defense attorneys were often overwhelmed by the technical aspects of DNA evidence. Copyright held by the NEBRASKA LAw REvIEw. Candidate for J.D., 1996, Texas Tech University School of Law, Lubbock, Texas; Post Doctorate, Biological Chemistry, 1982-87, The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore; Ph.D., 1982, Medical College of Ohio at Toledo; MA., 1978, University of California at Davis; BA., 1975, University of California at Santa Cruz. The author is a third year law student, and a former Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry with four papers on DNA analysis pub- lished in refereed scientific journals. He would like to thank Professor Timothy Floyd of the Texas Tech School of Law and Troy Scott, Executive Editor of the Nebraska Law Review, for their editorial assistance with this manuscript.

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