DNA evidence is one of the most powerful tools available to the criminal justice system, and these new steps will ensure the department can use DNA to the greatest extent possible to solve crimes and ensure the guilty are convicted. Improving both the collection and the use of DNA evidence will help law enforcement and prosecutors keep communities safe."

Last month, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in Skinner v. Switzer on a convicted prisoner's right to seek access to DNA testing. The issue is whether a convicted prisoner seeking access to biological evidence for DNA testing may assert a civil rights claim under § 1983 or if such a claim is cognizable only under a writ of habeas corpus. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court decision to dismiss Skinner's § 1983 claim seeking access to DNA evidence that may prove his innocence in the murders for which he is now sentenced to death, stating that relief could only be sought through habeas corpus. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in District Attorney's Office v. Osborne [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] that a defendant does not have the right to obtain post-conviction access to the state’s biological evidence in order to do DNA testing.