• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Yale Law School Student Scholarship
    • Student Prize Papers
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Yale Law School Student Scholarship
    • Student Prize Papers
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of openYLSCommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    The Problem Child: Forensic DNA Databases, Familial Search, and A Call for Reform

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Seringhaus_Brody_Prize_TheProb ...
    Size:
    376.9Kb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Seringhaus, Michael
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13051/17790
    Abstract
    The FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and its component databases are expanding rapidly. Originally profiling only certain classes of convicted violent felons, CODIS now includes all federal arrestees, convicts, and foreign detainees, as well as convicts from every state and arrestees from many. This expansion is driven by the desire to solve more crimes with forensic DNA evidence, which has proven a potent investigative tool. This expansion has largely been blessed by courts, although some question remains as to the ultimate Fourth Amendment treatment of including DNA from arrestees. The most controversial expansion, however—and one not yet examined by any court—comes in the form of familial DNA searching, a technology that permits indirect identification of blood relatives through their genetic similarity to a profiled offender. FBI labs have rejected this “problem child” of CODIS, but in response to strong state lobbying, the Bureau now permits states to perform familial searches at will. Two states, California and Colorado, have authorized familial DNA search regimes. Familial DNA search is worrisome for several reasons: It overextends CODIS both legally and technically, improperly subjects individuals to scrutiny solely on account of their relatives’ misdeeds, and greatly aggravates the racial inequality already present in the offender database. This paper summarizes the scientific and legal underpinnings of U.S. forensic DNA databases, and argues for several key changes to database policy. Section I presents scientific background sufficient to understand what DNA profiles are, what they are not, and how DNA identification functions. This section also explains the principles underlying familial DNA search, and discusses DNA profiling in terms of genetic privacy.
    Collections
    Student Prize Papers

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.