Universität zu Köln

Gill, Peter, Hicks, Tacha ORCID: 0000-0002-0114-5258, Butler, John M., Connolly, Ed, Gusmao, Leonor ORCID: 0000-0003-0432-6481, Kokshoorn, Bas, Morling, Niels ORCID: 0000-0002-9463-5087, van Oorschot, Roland A. H., Parson, Walther ORCID: 0000-0002-5692-2392, Prinz, Mechthild, Schneider, Peter M. ORCID: 0000-0003-0744-2349, Sijen, Titia and Taylor, Duncan ORCID: 0000-0003-0633-7424 (2018). DNA commission of the International society for forensic genetics: Assessing the value of forensic biological evidence - Guidelines highlighting the importance of propositions Part I: evaluation of DNA profiling comparisons given (sub-) source propositions. Forensic Sci. Int.-Genet., 36. S. 189 - 203. CLARE: ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD. ISSN 1878-0326

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Abstract

The interpretation of evidence continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing the forensic community. This is the first of two papers intended to provide advice on difficult aspects of evaluation and in particular on the formulation of propositions. The scientist has a dual role: investigator (crime-focused), where often there is no suspect available and a database search may be required; evaluator (suspect-focused), where the strength of evidence is assessed in the context of the case. In investigative mode, generally the aim is to produce leads regarding the source of the DNA. Sub-source level propositions will be adequate to help identify potential suspects who can be further investigated by the authorities. Once in evaluative mode, given the defence version of events of the person of interest, it may become necessary to consider alternatives that go beyond the source of the DNA (i.e., to consider activity level propositions). In the evaluation phase, it is crucial that formulation of propositions allows the assessment of all the results that will help with the issue at hand. Propositions should therefore be precise (indication of the number of contributors, information on the relevant population etc.), be about causes, not effects (e.g. a 'matching' DNA profile) and to avoid bias, must not be findings-led. This means that ideally, propositions should be decided based on the case information and before the results of the comparisons are known. This paper primarily reflects upon what has been coined as sub-source level propositions. These are restricted to the evaluation of the DNA profiles themselves, and help answer the issue regarding the source of the DNA. It is to be emphasised that likelihood ratios given sub-source level propositions cannot be carried over to a different level - for example, activity level propositions, where the DNA evidence is put into the context of the alleged activities. This would be highly misleading and could give rise to miscarriages of justice; this will be discussed in a second paper. The value of forensic results depends not only on propositions, but also on the type of results (e.g. allelic designations, peak heights, replicates) and upon the model used: it is therefore important to discuss these aspects. Finally, since communication is key to help understanding by courts, we will explore how to convey the value of the results and explain the importance of avoiding the practice of transposing the conditional.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Gill, Peter UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Hicks, Tacha UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-0114-5258 UNSPECIFIED Butler, John M. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Connolly, Ed UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Gusmao, Leonor UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-0432-6481 UNSPECIFIED Kokshoorn, Bas UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Morling, Niels UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-9463-5087 UNSPECIFIED van Oorschot, Roland A. H. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Parson, Walther UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-5692-2392 UNSPECIFIED Prinz, Mechthild UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Schneider, Peter M. UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-0744-2349 UNSPECIFIED Sijen, Titia UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Taylor, Duncan UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-0633-7424 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-173600
DOI:	10.1016/j.fsigen.2018.07.003
Journal or Publication Title:	Forensic Sci. Int.-Genet.
Volume:	36
Page Range:	S. 189 - 203
Date:	2018
Publisher:	ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
Place of Publication:	CLARE
ISSN:	1878-0326
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language DATABASE SEARCH; LIKELIHOOD RATIOS; LOW-TEMPLATE; MIXTURE INTERPRETATION; MATCH PROBABILITIES; CONTRIBUTORS; RECOMMENDATIONS; SCIENCE; NUMBER; CASEWORK Multiple languages Genetics & Heredity; Medicine, Legal Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/17360