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Full-Text Articles in Law
Dna And Due Process, Brandon L. Garrett
Dna And Due Process, Brandon L. Garrett
Fordham Law Review
The U.S. Supreme Court in District Attorney’s Office v. Osborne confronted novel and complex constitutional questions regarding the postconviction protections offered to potentially innocent convicts. Two decades after DNA testing exonerated the first inmate in the United States, the Court heard its first claim by a convict seeking DNA testing that could prove innocence. I argue that, contrary to early accounts, the Court did not reject a constitutional right to postconviction DNA testing. Despite language suggesting the Court would not “constitutionalize the issue” by announcing an unqualified freestanding right, Chief Justice Roberts’s majority opinion proceeded to carefully fashion an important, …
The Right Remedy For The Wrongly Convicted: Judicial Sanction For Destruction Of Dna Evidence, Cynthia E. Jones
The Right Remedy For The Wrongly Convicted: Judicial Sanction For Destruction Of Dna Evidence, Cynthia E. Jones
Fordham Law Review
Many state innocence protection statutes give courts the power to impose appropriate sanctions when biological evidence needed for postconviction DNA testing is wrongly destroyed by the government. Constitutional claims based on wrongful evidence destruction are governed by the virtually insurmountable “bad faith” standard articulated in Arizona v. Youngblood. The wrongful destruction of DNA evidence in contravention of state innocence protection laws, however, should be governed by the standards used to adjudicate other “access to evidence” violations in criminal cases, including disclosures mandated by the rules of criminal procedure, the Jencks Act, and Brady v. Maryland. Under the “access to evidence” …
Assessing Fourth Amendment Challenges To Dna Extraction Statutes After Samson V. California, Charles J. Nerko
Assessing Fourth Amendment Challenges To Dna Extraction Statutes After Samson V. California, Charles J. Nerko
Fordham Law Review
DNA plays an indespensable role in modern law enforcement, and courts uniformly find that DNA extraction statutes targeting criminals satisfy the Fourth Amendment. Courts differ on which Fourth Amendment test--totality of the circumstances or special needs--ought to be employed in this context. This Note concludes the courts should apply Samson v. California's less stringent totality of the circumstances test to analyze DNA extraction statutes in order to maintain the integrity of the special needs test.
Prosecutors, Ethics, And Expert Witnesses, Paul C. Giannelli, Kevin C. Mcmunigal
Prosecutors, Ethics, And Expert Witnesses, Paul C. Giannelli, Kevin C. Mcmunigal
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
Expanding New York's Dna Database: The Future Of Law Enforcement, Robert W. Schumacher Ii
Expanding New York's Dna Database: The Future Of Law Enforcement, Robert W. Schumacher Ii
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Article discusses a proposal by New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir to expand New York's DNA Database. The proposal would allow the police to obtain DNA from anyone arrested for a recordable offense. The Article describes how DNA is used by law enforcement from the molecular level to DNA databases. The Article then describes Safir's proposal, including the controversy surrounding Fourth Amendment privacy concerns and fears of potential misuse of the DNA information by law enforcement. Despite these concerns, in light of New York's recidivism rates, crime trends, administrative costs, and investigative efficiency, the Article argues that Safir's …
The Admission Of Dna Evidence In State And Federal Courts, George Bundy Smith, Janet A. Gordon
The Admission Of Dna Evidence In State And Federal Courts, George Bundy Smith, Janet A. Gordon
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
Dna Fingerprinting And The Need For A National Data Base, Joann Marie Longobardi
Dna Fingerprinting And The Need For A National Data Base, Joann Marie Longobardi
Fordham Urban Law Journal
DNA fingerprinting, at the time of publication a new concept, has dramatic implications in both the civil and criminal contexts. The author argues that a national DNA data base should be created. He contends that a DNA data base would be a powerful tool for law enforcement as well as defense attorneys, and that the danger to privacy rights is outweighed by the benefits to society. The author argues that taking DNA is neither invasive nor does it provide substantive information to the authorities. In sum, the author states that a national DNA data base with sufficient safeguards should be …