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The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence (1996)

Chapter: Acknowledgments

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Suggested Citation:"Acknowledgments." National Research Council. 1996. The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5141.
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Page 224

Acknowledgments

During the course of its deliberations, the committee requested and received input from experts worldwide. The panel expresses its appreciation for the more than 50 written comments it received. The panel also acknowledges with appreciation presentations and input from the following persons:

Ivan Balazs, Lifecodes Corporation, Stamford, Connecticut.

Ranajit Chakraborty, University of Texas Graduate School of Medical Science, Houston.

Howard C. Coleman, GeneLex Corporation, Seattle, Washington.

Robin Cotton, Cellmark Diagnostics, Germantown, Maryland.

Harold A. Deadman, US Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Peter Donnelly, University of Chicago, Illinois.

George T. Duncan, Broward Sheriff's Office, Ft Lauderdale, Florida.

Debra Endean, American Association of Blood Banks, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Peter Gill, The Forensic Science Service, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

John W. Hicks, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, Birmingham, Alabama.

Keith Inman, California Association of Criminalists, Oakland, California.

Jonathan J. Koehler, The University of Texas at Austin.

Kenneth C. Konzak, Bureau of Forensic Science, Berkeley, California.

CC Li, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Frederick R. Millar Jr, Office of California Attorney General, San Diego.

Laurence D. Mueller, University of California, Irvine.

David Reiser, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

Suggested Citation:"Acknowledgments." National Research Council. 1996. The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5141.
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Page 225

Patricia A. Riley, US Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Kathryn Roeder, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Richard L. Tanton, Palm  Beach Sheriff's Crime Laboratory, West Palm Beach, Florida.

Elizabeth Thompson, University of Washington, Seattle.

Victor W. Weedn, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rockville, Maryland.

David J. Werrett, The Forensic Science Service, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Special thanks are due to Paul Ferrara of the Division of Forensic Sciences of the State of Virginia, and to Neal Risch of the Stanford University School of Medicine, who served as consultants to the committee and reviewed an earlier version of the report. The committee also wishes to thank the following people for their help and advice:

David Balding, University of London, United Kingdom.

Vivian Chang, Arizona State University College of Law, Tempe.

Angela Chen, Pomona College, Claremont, California.

Carter Denniston, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Martin Kreitman, University of Chicago, Illinois.

Harvey Motulsky, New York City, New York.

Joseph Peterson, Department of Criminal Justice, Chicago, Illinois.

William Thompson, University of California, Irvine.

Bruce Weir, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

Sandy Zabell, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

Suggested Citation:"Acknowledgments." National Research Council. 1996. The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5141.
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Page 224
Suggested Citation:"Acknowledgments." National Research Council. 1996. The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5141.
×
Page 225
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The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence Get This Book
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In 1992 the National Research Council issued DNA Technology in Forensic Science, a book that documented the state of the art in this emerging field. Recently, this volume was brought to worldwide attention in the murder trial of celebrity O. J. Simpson. The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence reports on developments in population genetics and statistics since the original volume was published. The committee comments on statements in the original book that proved controversial or that have been misapplied in the courts. This volume offers recommendations for handling DNA samples, performing calculations, and other aspects of using DNA as a forensic tool—modifying some recommendations presented in the 1992 volume. The update addresses two major areas:

  • Determination of DNA profiles. The committee considers how laboratory errors (particularly false matches) can arise, how errors might be reduced, and how to take into account the fact that the error rate can never be reduced to zero.
  • Interpretation of a finding that the DNA profile of a suspect or victim matches the evidence DNA. The committee addresses controversies in population genetics, exploring the problems that arise from the mixture of groups and subgroups in the American population and how this substructure can be accounted for in calculating frequencies.

This volume examines statistical issues in interpreting frequencies as probabilities, including adjustments when a suspect is found through a database search. The committee includes a detailed discussion of what its recommendations would mean in the courtroom, with numerous case citations. By resolving several remaining issues in the evaluation of this increasingly important area of forensic evidence, this technical update will be important to forensic scientists and population geneticists—and helpful to attorneys, judges, and others who need to understand DNA and the law. Anyone working in laboratories and in the courts or anyone studying this issue should own this book.

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