DNA and the Criminal Justice System: The Technology of Justice
http://www.100md.com
《新英格兰医药杂志》
Over the past decade, DNA technology has become fixed in the popular consciousness as a reliable tool for the identification of the guilty and the exoneration of the innocent. Arguably, the public's expectations regarding DNA testing are such that a failure to use it in any major criminal prosecution would have to be explained to the jury. This book takes the popular acceptance of forensic DNA identification as fact and focuses on some of the policy issues that have emerged as the technology has come to prominence. The book consists of a collection of essays representing diverse political and philosophical positions on these issues; its objectives are to identify areas of consensus and to clarify points of contention. At this level, the book succeeds; the essays are written by topflight authorities, and the policy positions are well articulated.
The principal focus of the book is on policies regarding forensic DNA databases. There are a number of important questions here: Who should be included in the databases? What is appropriate use? Who should have access? Some parts of these questions mirror questions raised with regard to medical and genetic databases, but there are also important issues specific to forensic databases — notably, the control of such databases by law enforcement (a suspect governmental entity to some; a protector of rights to others), the constitutional questions involving Fourth Amendment protections and privacy rights, and the concern that database information may be used inappropriately to study the genetics of criminal behavior (whatever that may be) or for other purposes unrelated to forensic identification per se.
If there is fault to be found with the book, it is in the lack of empirical data with regard to what has been learned from the use of forensic databases during the past decade. The effort to balance discussions of individual privacy and the public good would have benefited from the inclusion of hard data about what is actually working and what is not. In fairness to the editor, there exist no studies on this subject, but it would have been helpful to identify the deficiency.
If I have a general quibble about the book, it is that the emphasis on database issues eclipses the discussion of other significant policy concerns. A notable example is the spare attention given to one of the most striking consequences of forensic DNA testing — the exoneration of a large number of wrongfully convicted persons. That these exonerations have brought to light systematic flaws in the way the legal system works is well described, but there is no elaboration of policy options or their implications. This is unfortunate, for restoring trust in the justice of our legal system should be a high priority.
George Sensabaugh, D.Crim.
University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health
Berkeley, CA 94720
The principal focus of the book is on policies regarding forensic DNA databases. There are a number of important questions here: Who should be included in the databases? What is appropriate use? Who should have access? Some parts of these questions mirror questions raised with regard to medical and genetic databases, but there are also important issues specific to forensic databases — notably, the control of such databases by law enforcement (a suspect governmental entity to some; a protector of rights to others), the constitutional questions involving Fourth Amendment protections and privacy rights, and the concern that database information may be used inappropriately to study the genetics of criminal behavior (whatever that may be) or for other purposes unrelated to forensic identification per se.
If there is fault to be found with the book, it is in the lack of empirical data with regard to what has been learned from the use of forensic databases during the past decade. The effort to balance discussions of individual privacy and the public good would have benefited from the inclusion of hard data about what is actually working and what is not. In fairness to the editor, there exist no studies on this subject, but it would have been helpful to identify the deficiency.
If I have a general quibble about the book, it is that the emphasis on database issues eclipses the discussion of other significant policy concerns. A notable example is the spare attention given to one of the most striking consequences of forensic DNA testing — the exoneration of a large number of wrongfully convicted persons. That these exonerations have brought to light systematic flaws in the way the legal system works is well described, but there is no elaboration of policy options or their implications. This is unfortunate, for restoring trust in the justice of our legal system should be a high priority.
George Sensabaugh, D.Crim.
University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health
Berkeley, CA 94720