DNA testing is in the news a lot these days, and not solely because of the saga of Anna Nicole Smith, whose burial was delayed amid a legal tussle over the paternity of her 5-month-old daughter, Daniellyn.
The growing success in obtaining convictions by genetic matching (since the O.J. Simpson trial anyway) has made it the preferred identification technology for law enforcement, as well as by other federal agencies. The U.S. military requires every serviceman to give blood for future DNA analysis, presumably for body identification.
States are among the most aggressive users of DNA testing. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently upheld a Garden State law requiring DNA testing of all felons, with the results maintained in a state database and submitted to the FBI.
Other states that have initiated extensive DNA collection policies include Virginia and Arizona -- the latter tests, collects, and stores the results not only from convicted felons but also from most people who are simply arrested for a felony. Florida is now considering collecting DNA from everyone convicted of a felony, as well as from those found guilty of certain misdemeanors.
The growing success in obtaining convictions by genetic matching (since the O.J. Simpson trial anyway) has made it the preferred identification technology for law enforcement, as well as by other federal agencies. The U.S. military requires every serviceman to give blood for future DNA analysis, presumably for body identification.
States are among the most aggressive users of DNA testing. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently upheld a Garden State law requiring DNA testing of all felons, with the results maintained in a state database and submitted to the FBI.
Other states that have initiated extensive DNA collection policies include Virginia and Arizona -- the latter tests, collects, and stores the results not only from convicted felons but also from most people who are simply arrested for a felony. Florida is now considering collecting DNA from everyone convicted of a felony, as well as from those found guilty of certain misdemeanors.
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