Mayor Adams’s Attempt to Bar Immigrants from Traveling to NYC Ruled Unconstitutional
Civil Liberties Union
Under current law, DNA evidence from a crime scene is compared against DNA samples in the state databank, which have been taken from individuals who have been previously convicted of certain crimes. When a DNA sample in the state databank matches crime-scene DNA, the individual from whom that sample was taken is usually considered a suspect. But what if the crime-scene DNA is a near match with a DNA sample in the state’s databank? A near match – or “partial match” – between a crime-scene sample and the DNA of someone in the in the state’s databank may exclude that individual as a suspect – or it may not. It also may implicate a blood relative of that person.
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When a DNA sample in the state databank matches crime-scene DNA, the individual from whom that sample was taken is usually considered a suspect. But what if the crime-scene DNA is a near match with a DNA sample in the state’s databank? A near match – or “partial match” – between a crime-scene sample and the DNA of someone in the in the state’s databank may exclude that individual as a suspect – or it may not. It also may implicate a blood relative of that person.
The New York State Commission on Forensic Sciences is considering a proposal to authorize law enforcement to collect DNA from the family members of an individual whose DNA is a “partial match” with crime scene evidence. While this proposal has a statistical rationale, it raises fundamental questions regarding the expanded use of forensic DNA. These questions are related to error and abuse in the handling of DNA; the adequacy of judicial oversight and protections of due process; racial disparities in the investigation and prosecution of alleged criminal conduct; and and the potential of including substantial numbers of innocent people in the DNA databank.
WHAT:
News conference on state forensics commission proposal to authorize use of DNA to conduct “familial searching”
WHERE:
LCA Press Room in the Convention Center, Albany
WHEN:
Monday, June 16 at 11 a.m.
WHO: