Collecting,Testing and Convincing

Abstract

Forensic DNA typing evidence has become increasingly accepted within American courts. This acceptance has been largely achieved through slow legitimation in a number of `mundane' cases. Treating DNA typing as a `sociotechnical network', I explore how elements of this technology have been alternatively opened for contestation within the courts or `black-boxed'. Elements outside the view of expert communities have been largely ignored; elements black-boxed by expert communities are seldom reopened in court; and elements subject to expert conflict have served as the central site of conflict in the courts. As the relatively narrow conflicts within the expert communities have been resolved through a variety of judicial and extra-judicial means, the technology as a whole has gained credibility. I explore this process by looking at the approaches of four different expert witnesses. This study provides insights into the differences between mundane cases and spectacular cases, such as the OJ Simpson trial.