The Florida State College of Law Research Center Blog

New Uses for DNA Evidence

DNA evidence is in the news lately.  The Washington Post has two articles on "Genes and Justice." 

This article discusses how law enforcement agencies are using DNA collected from people who are not suspected of a crime to identify relatives who might be suspects.  Police were suspicious of Dennis Rader, but they did not arrest him as the BTK killer until they examined DNA from a Pap smear taken from his daughter several years earlier.  Privacy advocates are concerned about using DNA samples in this way, and the states are moving in different directions, some specifically authorizing it and other banning it.

In another article, the Post examines the new practice of using DNA as evidence of genetic problems that might be considered mitigating factors, such as a genetic propensity for violent behavior.  This "DNA defense" may or may not impress jurors.  In some cases, it might work against the accused by suggesting an increased possibility of repeating the crime.

Posted by Robin Gault

Trial Techniques in a Visual Culture

New York Law School has created the Visual Persuasion Project to explore the effect of "visual rhetoric" on the representation of legal issues and to train students in more effective advocacy using visual technologies.  In the Neuroethics and Law blog, Christopher Buttafusco suggests that there may be fundamental differences in the way that the brain processes different types of visual information that could raise questions about the need for different standards of admissibility based on format.

Posted by Robin Gault

eDiscovery Costs

Forrester Research predicts that eDiscovery technology spending will jump from $1.4 billion in 2006 to more than $4.8 billion in 2011.  As enterprises struggle to create electronic discovery systems, the need for records management will create significant market growth.  Forrester stresses the need to assemble the right team of legal, records management, and IT experts to craft eDiscovery solutions.  They also predict that a fragmented technology marketplace that may require using multiple vendors or to outsource.  For the full report see Barry Murphy's December 11, 2006 report Believe It -- eDiscovery Technology Spending To Top $4.8 Billion by 2011.

Posted by Faye Jones

Electronic Discovery: Not So Scary?

While the concepts underlying the new FRCP electronic discovery rules are simple, they represent a fundamental, complicated change in the actual practice of discovery.  Dennis Kennedy, a lawyer and expert on the application of technology in the practice of law, recommends a free guide prepared by Stratify, one of the leading e-discovery vendors.  An e-discovery slide chart, the Stratify Quick Guide to the Revised FRCP offers a summary of the main rule changes and practical tips on how to prepare.  To request a copy, contact Stratify here.  Kennedy's home page also includes many useful e-discovery resources, including "EDD-ucating Yourself About Electronic Discovery."

Posted by Faye Jones

Yale LJ's "Online Companion"

The Yale Law Journal has created The Pocket Part as an "online companion" to the journal.   It offers short versions of articles along with reponses from practitioners and scholars.  The August 2006 issue has several articles about the forthcoming federal rules on electronic discovery.

Posted by Robin Gault

Complex Scientific Evidence

Gene therapies, gene transfers, genetic screening, and new biotechnologies will give rise to many legal disputes.  The legal issues are complex.  Are trial jurors prepared to deal with the complexities of these issues?  An article in Judicature, Genes and Justice: The Growing Impact of the New Genetics on the Courts discusses this issue and others.   

Posted by Jon Lutz

The Case of Mimi the Cat

After being shot at by a local villager just before sunrise, a black cat, which “ducked and ran away,” goes missing for a couple of weeks. She returns home with a scratch on her paw. Two witnesses to the alleged armed attack offer testimony based on the psychological faculty of perception—in this case, visual acuity.

Mimi’s case and other smile-eliciting case descriptions are in a new book published by Amsterdam University Press: The Popular Policeman and Other Cases: Psychological Perspectives on Legal Evidence. (We have a copy.)

The authors hope to encourage consideration “of often neglected issues in the field of psychology and the law.” There is potential for expert witness testimony in areas “that psychologists are not thought to possess relevant information.” The case descriptions collected here may provide useful training in the application of psychology within a legal context. An added plus: “…some cases, in spite of their sometimes dramatic qualities, may occasionally elicit a smile.”

Posted by Toni Urquhart

The U.S. Supreme Court Considers Standards for Reopening Death Penalty Cases

This past Wednesday our highest court considered how to handle new evidence of innocence years after a conviction for a capital crime.  The case of death row inmate Paul Gregory House marks the first time the Supreme Court has looked at standards for reopening death penalty cases based on new scientific evidence.

Peter Neufeld, Co-Director of the Innocence Project, says that “DNA testing has transformed the criminal justice system in this country—it has exonerated innocent people who were wrongly convicted, and it has provided scientific proof that wrongful convictions are not isolated events.” An amicus brief on behalf of Mr. House has been filed, “arguing that courts should be allowed to give more weight to hard scientific evidence such as DNA.” Such evidence invalidates less reliable forensic evidence used in the original trial.

‘DNA Test Confirms Guilt in 1992 Execution,’ an article in today’s issue of The New York Times, discusses a case which shows the power of DNA to “cut both ways.” The scientific evidence provided by DNA can prove that those convicted are indeed guilty.

Posted by Toni Urquhart