NCJ Number
118433
Journal
Criminal Justice Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall-Winter 1988) Pages: 1-87
Date Published
1988
Length
87 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the Kelly-Frye test for admissibility of scientific evidence in an attempt to assess the likelihood of its replacement by a modified relevancy approach in California and explores the current potential for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)-typing technology to pass a strict "general-acceptance" admissibility standard should Kelly-Frye survive in California.
Abstract
Following a background explanation of the science and current techniques of DNA typing, this article reviews the current standard for admissibility of scientific evidence and the reasons given by the California attorney general for modifying that standard. The article concludes with a consideration of the ability of DNA-typing techniques to pass a conservative Kelly-Frye standard for admissibility. The autor concludes that based on the California constitutional mandate concerning victim's rights and the attorney general's appeal for modification of the Kelly-Frye standard, the continued use of the Kelly-Frye rule in California is doubtful. Decisions from other jurisdictions and a review of current scientific and legal literature suggests that DNA-typing identification evidence will be admitted by California courts, albeit after several extensive pretrial hearings concerning various reliability facets of the test procedures, irrespective of whether the current Kelly-Frye rule is liberalized by the California Supreme Court. 514 footnotes.