Excerpt
May 17, 2011
It is certainly possible that a popular misperception that the Tucker trial somehow discredited DNA will lead to the outright acquittal of some defendants squarely implicated by it. But any such effect will surely be short-lived, for DNA is overwhelming evidence of identity, and, in most cases, the courtroom is an empire of reason, where fully credible evidence will continue to have influence. To the extent that defense lawyers attack the reliability of DNA outright, rather than focus on contextual issues--such as consent, planting, or specific problems in the field or laboratory--they will likely fail. They will be like King Canute, ordering the waters to recede. It simply will not happen. Still, there is a substantial danger that the Tucker case may pose a setback to DNA outside the courtroom that will reverberate ominously throughout the criminal justice system. That will happen if the case results in an increased reluctance on the part of prosecutor to request DNA tests because of a misbegotten belief that such tests are so complex and their explanations so difficult to deliver that they will inevitably confuse jurors and create a fertile field for the planting of reasonable doubt.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
