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A Litigator's Guide to DNA: From the Laboratory to the Courtroom

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This book is where any litigant or judge should start before dealing with DNA evidence in a courtroom.

The authors all hail from either science or legal backgrounds. Therefore, this book has a synthesis of the scientific information of DNA combined with the technical evidentiary structures of the legal system that no other book presents. There are many books on DNA, however other than this book, few - if any are able to explain how DNA evidence is utilized in a practical manner in trial. After all, every trial attorney knows that it is not just the evidence you have in a case that matters, but rather how you present it and whether or not the jury understands it and believes it.

This book is organized by chapter focusing on one subject at a time. The earlier chapters deal with preliminary matters and foundational scientific issues. This means you do not have to have a scientific background to grasp the full meaning of the content of the book. However, if you do have a scientific background, you do not need to read the earlier chapters. This is nice since in the legal field, time truly is money. The authors make sure to cover the mathematical areas, the scientific areas, and the legal considerations of using DNA in a trial.

If you need another reason to purchase this book, consider this. If you are not comfortable with the concepts your expert witness is going to testify about then you are most likely going to ask questions improperly which will result in less than stellar testimony. Furthermore, if you do not understand the subject matter well enough, then you will not even realize when the opposition is asking questions improperly or is confusing issues that need rehabilitation on re-examination. If you do not know the subject matter well enough, you simply could miss important objections. Additionally, if you are the Judge in the case, you could make an improper ruling if you had not prepared for the subject matter.

I found that after reading this book and refreshing myself with it whenever necessary, I was not a full blown expert on the subject of DNA. However, I was armed with enough knowledge to speak with my expert intelligently, maneuver the trial well, and explain a confusing subject to the jury.

If it wasn't clear before, I would suggest this book.