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District Attorneys' Innovative Use of DNA Evidence
Milwaukee, Wis.
Defense and prosecuting attorneys alike see benefits in performing DNA
testing within a few days of a crime. It can promptly clear innocent suspects
and help catch the guilty. Milwaukee County district attorney Norman Gahn
has taken this approach a step further. He didn't wait for a suspect.
After obtaining DNA evidence in a September 1999 sexual assault crime,
Gahn issued a warrant based on DNA alone. "We issued a warrant for the
arrest of that person, based on his genetic code," Gahn explains. Automatic
checks against DNA data banks nationwide regularly search for a match.
Questions remain, he adds, as to what will happen in litigation should
there ultimately be a DNA match and an arrest. Did he meet the requirements
for a warrant? Did the statute of limitations expire? "All sorts of arguments
could be made about the passage of time and things of that nature," Gahn
says. "But I believe the DNA technology has gotten to the point that you
can carve out an exception."
Gahn was one of the first, if not the first, prosecutor in the country
to adopt this tactic. Since then, many have followed. "In fact, a couple
of months ago, Sacramento got a hit on one of its DNA warrants," he says.
"The validity of it is being litigated now." And Gahn is keeping a close
eye on the results.
San Diego, Calif.
Last June, the San Diego County district attorney's office adopted a
proactive stance in using DNA evidence to clear innocent prison inmates.
It's the first prosecutor's office in the country to offer free DNA tests
to inmates who think such tests could prove their innocence.
One impetus behind San Diego's decision was the case of Frederick Daye,
who served 10 years of a life sentence for robbery, rape, and kidnapping
before DNA tests proved his innocence. DNA testing was not available in
1984, when Daye was arrested. The jury convicted him mostly on eyewitness
testimony and Daye's shaky alibi.
Prosecutors have begun what they expect will be a year-long process
of reviewing some 560 convictions dating back to before 1992, when testing
of suspects' DNA became common practice. The San Diego office pegs the
cost of each test at roughly $5,000.
Other district attorney offices around the country now are considering
similar efforts. Prosecutors coordinating the San Diego project have described
their effort as "the responsible thing to do."
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