Frye or Frye Not: Should the Reliability of DNA Evidence Be a Question of Weight or Admissibility Note 30 American Criminal Law Review 1992-1993

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30 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 161 (1992-1993)
Frye or Frye Not: Should the Reliability of DNA Evidence Be a Question of Weight or Admissibility

handle is hein.journals/amcrimlr30 and id is 171 raw text is: FRYE OR FRYE NOT: SHOULD THE RELIABILITY OF
DNA EVIDENCE BE A QUESTION OF WEIGHT OR
ADMISSIBILITY?
I. INTROD U CTION ....................................... 16 1
II. DNA-THE UNDERLYING THEORY ..................... 163
III. DNA-PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOLS ................... 165
A . The D N A Print ................................. 166
B. Population Genetics .............................. 168
IV. AN EMERGING AREA OF CONTROVERSY-THE USE OF
POPULATION G ENETICS ................ ............... 170
V. THE FRYE STANDARD ................................. 173
A . Introduction . ............. ................... 173
B. The Frye Standard Strictly Interpreted ............. 174
VI. THE RELEVANCY APPROACH ........................... 177
A . Introduction .................................... 177
B. Case Studies: Scientific Reliability Under The
Relevancy Standard .............................. 178
VII. THE MODIFIED FRYE STANDARD-THE CASTRO APPROACH 179
VIII. THE STATUTORY TREND TO ADMIT DNA EVIDENCE ........ 181
IX. RESULT RELIABILITY VS. SCIENTIFIC RELIABILITY
REVISITED-THE ROLE OF THE JURY IN THE DNA
E Q U A TIO N ........................................... 182
A . A n O verview .................................... 182
B. R ecom m endations ................................ 184
X . C ONCLUSION ......................................... 186
I. INTRODUCTION
The use of DNA' evidence for forensic purposes is a relatively new phe-
nomenon. While used in research laboratories and civil paternity suits for a
number of years, DNA evidence did not gain notoriety in the criminal con-
text until 1988.2 In the few years since, DNA testing ha[s] been used in
1. DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA evidence typically consists of blood,
semen, or other bodily fluids left at a crime scene, the analysis of which pinpoints the identity of the
perpetrator of a crime. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, DNA TECHNOLOGY IN FORENSIC SCIENCE, at
1-1 (April 16, 1992) (prepublication copy) [hereinafter DNA REPORT].
2. Andrews v. State, 533 So. 2d 841 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988) (sexual assault case in which DNA
evidence admitted on basis of relevance standard), reh'g denied, 542 So. 2d 1332 (1989). While An-
drews was the first American criminal case in which DNA evidence was used, such evidence had al-
ready been used in two cases from the United Kingdom. On Nov. 13, 1985, Robert Melias pleaded
guilty to raping a handicapped woman after being confronted with a DNA match between a semen
stain recovered from the scene of the crime and his DNA pattern. Edward G. Burley, A Study in
Scarlet: Criminal DNA Typing Reaches the Courts and Legislatures, 6 J. LAW & POL. 755, 785 &