DNA Forensics Science: An Update--Supplement

In 1992, the NRC published 'DNA Technology in Forensic Science.' It was immediately recognized as the consensus of scientific opinion for determining the admissibility of DNA typing as evidence and for specifying statistical approaches for interpreting this type of forensic information. However, the report did not quell debate over the statistical evaluation of forensic DNA evidence. Some scientists have been critical of the conservative statistical approach in the report, and forensic scientists have claimed that ambiguities of language permit lawyers to use the same evidence to arrive at very different conclusions. In the mean time, new evidence and analyses have been accumulating, some of it in response to recommendations in the report. To take advantage of this new information and to help resolve the debate, the NRC proposes to form a committee of experts to perform a study addressing unresolved issues in the statistical evaluation of DNA forensic evidence. The committee will consist of experts in molecular biology, statistics, population genetics, and other appropriate areas of expertise. (Co-funded with Justice et al.)