‘Genetic Fingerprinting’ Cleared for Use in Trial
A Van Nuys Superior Court judge, climaxing six months of technical debate, ruled Monday that the “genetic fingerprinting” technique has won such widespread scientific acceptance that it can be used for the first time in a Los Angeles County trial.
The ruling by Judge James M. Coleman clears the way for using DNA analysis to prosecute Henry Wilds, 33, on charges of sexually assaulting and robbing two North Hollywood women.
DNA--deoxyribonucleic acid--is found in all human cells and can be translated into intricate patterns resembling supermarket bar codes. The courts of about 30 states accept DNA as evidence. In September, a 35-year-old Ventura woman became the first person in California to be convicted with genetic evidence when prosecutors used DNA patterns in strands of hair as evidence that she fatally stabbed a man during an attempted robbery.
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