Having a solid defense strategy is vital when charged with a DWI. While there are multiple approaches lawyers can take when building a defense strategy, there’s one particular method that tends to stand out from the rest – DNA evidence. A powerful tool for challenging DWI charges, DNA evidence combines the power of science and the accuracy of the results obtained to help shed light on important details and facts.
Not only does this aid the investigation process, but it can completely change the case outcome. In this article, we’re going to examine the role of DNA evidence in challenging DWI charges and how this potent tool is changing the criminal justice landscape.
It serves as a definitive proof
Because DNA evidence is objective and relies on science, this method offers a sense of certainty. Unlike other methods, DNA evidence can serve as concrete proof of one’s innocence or guilt. Because it is such a strong proof, DNA evidence can be used to strengthen defense while challenging prosecutor’s claims.
According to a seasoned DWI attorney Rochester NY, hiring a well-versed expert is vital in such instances as it can help clients maintain their livelihoods while also escaping severe penalties. With DNA evidence, a good defense attorney can protect and defend their client with more ease and use it as a proof to demonstrate the client’s non-involvement with the crime in question.
It can be used to challenge prosecution’s claims
When it comes to DNA testing, extreme caution is imperative. DNA evidence needs to be handled, collected, and analyzed carefully to ensure it is reliable. It also needs to be stored properly in order to ensure its validity. Due to the sensitive nature of DNA evidence, it is easy for it to get contaminated in the process. Such evidence isn’t valid anymore, which typically results in it being excluded in order to avoid wrongful convictions due to tainted evidence.
The fact that a lot of things can go wrong while the DNA evidence gets from crime scene to laboratory opens the door to numerous potential issues in the chain of custody. If there are any errors or gaps during the DNA testing process, it can be used by the attorneys to challenge prosecution’s claims by raising doubt about reliability of the evidence presented.
It can help exonerate individuals who have been wrongfully accused
Although the legal system aims to identify criminals and bring them to justice, it is also prone to miscarriages. As a result, many individuals have been wrongfully accused in the past for a crime they didn’t commit, spending years and even decades behind bars without a way to prove their innocence.
The case that changed all that was the Pitchfork murder case that took place back in 1986. The lawyer Alec Jeffreys used DNA profiling which helped prove the innocence of the first suspect while also identifying the actual killer. This was the first time a DNA analysis was used to solve a case. From then on, DNA evidence has helped 375 individuals convicted of a crime they didn’t commit by proving their innocence, with 21 of those individuals being on Death Row prior to exoneration.
It can help identify the real culprits and bring them to justice
Not only does wrongful accusation mean that the system has put the wrong person behind bars, but it also means that the actual perpetrator of the crime is out there, walking free. Convicting the guilty is just as important as exonerating the wrongfully accused, and DNA evidence often plays a crucial role here as well.
By using the collected DNA evidence from the crime scene, the law enforcement professionals are able to search for a potential match in the database of offenders and link the crime to the actual perpetrator. By bringing them to justice, the law enforcement professionals can ensure that the culprits are held accountable for their actions all the while bringing closure to victims’ families and potentially even solving cold cases.
The immense impact of DNA evidence on criminal justice landscape
Due to its extreme accuracy and the fact that it is a strong, concrete proof, DNA evidence plays a vital role in challenging criminal cases such as a DWI charge. Although it has been discovered less than half a century ago, DNA profiling continues to reshape the criminal justice landscape and the way investigations are approached.
With further technological development, we can expect to see even more accurate DNA profiling while it continues to shed light on the truth.
