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Lisa Kreeger
Program Manager and Senior Attorney, DNA Forensics Program
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State and local prosecutors prosecute the vast majority of violent crime, including sexual assaults and homicides—cases where DNA evidence is often critical. While forensic DNA technology has energized prosecutors, law enforcement, scientists and other professionals, the knowledge base and financial resources have advanced unevenly throughout the nation.
In November 2003, APRI’s DNA Forensics Program held its first national conference, DNA: Justice Speaks, to begin an essential dialogue about their experiences and policies regarding difficult issues surrounding cold cases, discovery, evidence review and post-conviction relief.
Conference participants raised a number of important questions, for example:
- Cold and unsolved cases: What are the logistics (who, what, where and how) for reviewing these cases, and how should they be prioritized?
- Discovery: Is it possible to create a systematic response that is timely, uniform and not unduly burdensome for the lab?
- Evidence Review: How to coordinate evidence review between prosecutor, police and lab before any testing is done?
- Post-conviction claims: Who will do the review? How are cases selected? Who will notify the victim or next of kin?
Participants agreed that the most successful policies require a multidisciplinary approach.
These and other issues that were raised at the national conference will be memorialized in a written report that will be distributed to prosecutors and other members of the forensic community.
APRI’s DNA Forensics Program also published a primer called Forensic DNA Fundamentals for the Prosecutor. This resource provides a general introduction to the science and math of DNA, as well as the legal challenges that face prosecutors trying DNA cases in today’s courtrooms. For more information, contact the DNA Forensics Program at dnaforensics@ndaa-apri.org or (703) 549-4253.
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