"
In fact, in June of 2009 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that prisoners do not have the right to DNA testing. This ruling came in the wake of a case involving an Alaskan man who was accused of rape and wanted DNA testing performed on materials that were found at the crime scene.
"Four Justices supported the man, William Osborne, but the court's majority said the decision whether to provide access to DNA tests is an issue for legislatures, not courts; 46 states and the Federal Government already mandate at least some access to DNA testing. "To suddenly constitutionalize this area would short-circuit what looks to be a prompt and considered legislative response," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts." (James, 2009)
This ruling indicates that the court has left the treatment of DNA testing for convicts in the hands of legislators and wants the state to decide the fates of those that believe they have been wrongfully convicted.
The authors also report that prosecutors believe that DNA is an extremely powerful tool. However there is also a general consensus from those that work in the field of DNA testing and from the criminal justice system that DNA testing has not yet reached its full potential. With this understood "given the role of the prosecutor in developing patterns of DNA testing and its use in charging, trying, and convicting alleged criminals, it behooves us to learn more about how this technology has been integrated into the daily activities of the nation's 2,800 prosecutors' offices (Prottas and Noble, 2007)."
Indeed there must be a concerted effort to pay greater attention to the ways in which DNA testing can be improved in various locales. It is also important to known which locales have the best and most Accurate DNA testing so that those facilities can become models for other facilities throughout the country. This type of modeling assists in the developing of standards for DNA testing that ensure
The research presented in this investigation indicates that DNA testing will continue to evolve well into the future. Although the Supreme Court ruled against making DNA testing constitutional, it is likely that many states have or will develop laws concerning DNA testing for those that believe that they have been wrongfully convicted.
Conclusions and/or recommendations
The purpose of this discussion was to provide an overview of the history of DNA testing in the criminal justice system. The research indicates that DNA testing was discovered in 1985. The research also revealed the first case of DNA testing occurred in Louisiana and consisted of a DNA dragnet. The investigation also found that the...
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