The idea behind the law is to help prevent wrongful convictions based on eyewitness testimony. Forty-eight states already have similar laws on the books, and the federal court system already permits expert testimony on the subject.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Action is being taken to reduce delays in testing DNA evidence that’s sitting unchecked.
A bipartisan state bill to implement “Rapid DNA” had already passed in the House, and on Tuesday, it passed unanimously in the Senate.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Wednesday night, the Senate passed House Bill 1399, a bill allowing law enforcement to collect DNA samples of people they arrest for violent crimes like murder, rape, and assault.
Comments Off on Texas Senate approves DNA collection on violent arrests
Posted in Database, DNA Legislation
MARINETTE – The first-degree sexual assault charge filed against a northern Oconto County man accused of a double homicide nearly 43 years ago was dismissed Monday at hearing where defense attorneys signaled an intent to aggressively fight DNA evidence in the case.
Marinette County District Attorney DeShea Morrow did not dispute a defense motion to dismiss the charge against Raymond L. Vannieuwenhoven, which noted the statute of limitations had expired after six years.
Fresno – On Wednesday, May 22, at 9 am, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will argue that criminal defendants have a right to review and evaluate the source code of forensic DNA analysis software programs used to create evidence against them. The case, California v. Johnson, is on appeal to a California appeals court.
Comments Off on Can Criminal Defendants Review DNA Analysis Software Used to Prosecute Them?
Posted in DNA Legislation
It happens almost every week: Police reveal that DNA technology has helped them crack a decades-old case or identify an infamous serial killer like Jack the Ripper.
Investigators have been using criminal DNA databases for decades, but commercial genealogy sites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe have revolutionized the industry. Now people can make their own genetic material public, and when law enforcement use that information to solve crimes, it can raise serious questions about privacy.
(TRENTON) – Under a measure (A-4677) passed by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee Monday, a DNA sample would be required to be collected from a person arrested for endangering the welfare of a child by committing a child pornography offense.
May 7, 2019 – Washington – Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) released the following statements after the Debbie Smith Act of 2019 passed out of the Senate Dianne FeinsteinJudiciary Committee:
A bill that would expand DNA searches to closed cases has passed the Kansas Legislature.
According to State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., who advocated for the bill, Senate Bill 102 was bundled with another measure and passed with only minor changes from the original bill.
Comments Off on Closed case DNA bill passes Kansas Legislature
Posted in DNA Legislation
TWENTY YEARS AGO, you had about a 1 in 6 billion chance of knowing someone who’d had their DNA sequenced. Today, almost every American can name someone who’s had some form of genetic testing.
Comments Off on The US Urgently Needs New Genetic Privacy Laws
Posted in DNA Legislation
Requires Free Registration
– NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The San Francisco County Superior Court today will hear arguments in a case challenging California law enforcement’s practice of retaining DNA profiles of individuals arrested for a felony.
The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Genetics and Society, the Equal Justice Society, and Pete Shanks against California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the California Department of Justice, alleges that law enforcement’s practice of taking DNA samples from arrestees suspected of a felony and retaining the profiles in a database, even if they’re never charged or convicted, violates privacy protections and restrictions on unreasonable searches and seizures in California’s constitution.
Federal immigration officers working on the U.S.-Mexico border will start “as early as next week” carrying out rapid DNA tests on immigrants in custody who claim to be related, a Department of Homeland Security official told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday evening.
Comments Off on ICE starting 90-minute DNA tests on immigrant families at border
Posted in Ancestry, DNA Legislation, Immigration
Legislation that changes the way missing persons cases are handled in Oklahoma has been signed into law.
Comments Off on ‘Francine’s Law’ for missing persons signed by Gov. Stitt
Posted in DNA Legislation, Forensic Industry News
New Delhi, Delhi, India: In a compelling debate on forensic DNA technology’s role in fighting crime, organised at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club–South Asia, forensic, legal, and policy experts attributed the rise in crimes against women in India to more reporting of cases rather than an extraordinary spike in violence.
Comments Off on Experts Call for Making DNA Testing Mandatory in Violent Crimes
Posted in Backlogs, DNA Legislation, Forensic Industry News
“The bill is named for Francine Frost, of Tulsa. Her family never quit looking for her after she went missing in 1981. More than three and a half decades later, remains that had been discovered two years after she was abducted were finally identified as hers, thanks to the determination of Francine’s family and the NamUs database,” Daniels said. “If this measure had been the law years ago, her case could have been solved sooner. I want to thank the Frost family for their strength and perseverance in helping bring this legislation forward.”
Comments Off on “Francine’s Law” Heads to the Governor
Posted in Cold Cases, DNA Legislation
Try in our lab
Confidence Comes From Clear Vision
RSS Feed