U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

DNA Fingerprinting and the Law

NCJ Number
118967
Journal
Modern Law Review Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1988) Pages: 145-155
Author(s)
R M White; J J D Greenwood
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The nature of the DNA fingerprinting process; its legal applications, particularly to immigration law and civil liberties; and the major political consequences are described.
Abstract
DNA fingerprinting can be used to identify suspects of crime where the perpetrator has left traces of organic material; It can also be used to eliminate the innocent. Ancestry can also be determined by this process which can be especially important in cases of disputed parenthood. DNA fingerprinting can be utilized to establish entitlement of Commonwealth immigrants. Under British Immigration Rules, new entrants must provide proof that they are related to their sponsor. The process, according to the author, may not be so much of a God-send as a major embarrassment to governments who may want to maintain the lengthy and difficult procedure of proving identification to reduce the number of those wishing to enter the country. On the other hand, DNA fingerprinting could be utilized to prevent citizens from leaving the country. And as a threat to civil liberties, DNA fingerprinting could be utilized as well to provide a forgery-proof method for accurately identifying every member of the population. 35 notes.