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21 Cap. U. L. Rev. 611 (1992)
DNA Typing: Defending a Process under Vigorous Attack

handle is hein.journals/capulr21 and id is 625 raw text is: DNA TYPING: DEFENDING A PROCESS UNDER VIGOROUS ATTACK INTRODUCTION Randall Jones had a problem. His car was stuck in the mud and he needed a tow. Jones' solution to that problem would land him on Florida's death row.., and his own DNA would prove to be part of the evidence that put him there. The Jones case is one of a growing number in which newly developed methods of DNA analysis are helping to identify the perpetrators of violent crimes, mainly rapes and murders. The crimes for which Jones was convicted were especially vicious. After his car became stuck, he approached a pickup truck that was parked at a nearby fishing ramp. The occupants, a man and a woman in their early twenties, were sleeping. Jones shot them both in the head with a high-powered rifle at close range. He then dragged their bodies into the woods and used the truck to pull his car out of the mud. About forty minutes after murdering his victims, Jones went back to the bodies and raped the woman. By doing so he left behind a sample of his sperm, which included his DNA, that would inextricably link him to the crime.1 DNA typing, commonly referred to as DNA fingerprinting, is at the cutting edge of forensic science. This technique has been hailed as the greatest advance in the 'search for the truth', [towards] the goal of convicting the guilty and acquitting the innocent, since the advent of the cross-examination.' The ability to conclusively prove the identity of a criminal suspect, or a putative father, has been revolutionized by the advent of DNA typing. Indeed, the forensic applications of DNA typing are limited only by the circumspection of the criminal mind.' In this comment, I will address the DNA analysis process, specifically the Restriction Fragmented Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis, the proper standard for admissibility of novel scientific evidence, the distinction between general acceptance and reliability, and the current legal status of DNA typing. I will L Jean L. Marx, DNA Fingerprinting Takes the Witness Stand, 240 SCIENCE 161 (June 17, 1988); Jones v. State, 569 So. 2d 1234, 1235-37 (Fla. 1990). 2. People v. Wesley, 533 N.Y.S.2d 643, 644 (Albany County Ct. 1988). & LoRNE T. KUBY, DNA FINGERPRINTING: AN INTRODUCTION (1990).