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Many attorneys hire metallurgists to study failures across many
industries. Similarly, finite element analysis is regularly
applied to a vast array of products. As discussed in previous
issues of Courtroom FEA, FEA applies when something bending or
breaking is an issue.
The following collage presents some of the industries that FEA
is applied to. The blue text lists some of the products the
author has experience with. (Collage available at
www.finiteelement.com/newsletter/CourtroomFEA_Vol03.html)
About the author:
Steve Roensch is an expert witness and mechanical engineer with
more than 20 years of professional experience. He has analyzed
hundreds of product designs and has served as an expert witness
across many industries, including giving depositions and
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DNA Profiling: Its Uses in Court
Stronger evidence in courtrooms—it's what every attorney, defendant, and plaintiff dreams of. Beginning in the last 1980s, this is exactly what began to surface through DNA profiling.
In addition to the one-of-a-kind pattern engraved on our fingers, each of us possesses a unique identifier that is built within our bodies. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic blueprint that determines our biological characteristics. DNA is a long molecule located in almost every cell in the human body. When we are conceived, we inherit half of our DNA from our mother and half from our father. Although every human's DNA is 99.9% identical, the remaining 0.1% is enough to uniquely identify an individual. Our DNA is made up of about 3 billion base pairs, the building blocks of DNA composed mainly of carbon and sugar. The 0.1% (3 million) base pairs that make us unique are what constitute our DNA fingerprint.
Over the past 20 years, courts have been able to rely upon the consistent accuracy of DNA profiling, also known as DNA fingerprinting, to solve crimes. DNA profiling has even been used to solve crimes that are more than 30 years old.
Here's how DNA profiling is done:
Specimens are collected from the crime scene. Anything can be used to extract DNA: Hair, blood, bodily fluids, etc. In some cases, victims may have scratched their attackers, in which case skin cells can be extracted from underneath the victim's fingernails in order to identify the criminal
The DNA needs to be isolated and cut so that it can be matched against other samples. Special enzymes recognize patterns in the DNA and cut the strand
In a process called electrophoresis, the strands are then placed on a gel where they are separated an electric current passed through it.
The resulting fragments are compared against samples of all suspects and a match is determined.
DNA profiling is mostly used in sexual offences (60%), homicide (20%), assaults (7%), robbery (7%), criminal damage (1%), and other cases (5%).
DNA profiling narrows the list of suspects that authorities need to work through. The FBI commented that DNA profiling allows them to dismiss one-third of rape suspects because the DNA samples do not match. Authorities recognize the possibility of specimens being planted at crime scenes, and therefore continue to investigate the crime based on motive, weapon, testimony, and other clues in order to more accurately solve the case.
Tom LeBaron is a marketing representative of DNA Bioscience and Sorenson Genomics. Receive your own free home kit for paternity testing, or learn more about DNA profiling.
Since being a couple and falling in love, most of the paths
you have taken; marriage, children, career, and purchases
have been made by discussions and mutual decisions.
You definitely would not have let a stranger make these
major decisions for you!
Then you are faced with a divorce, which is rarely
discussed and is rarely a mutual decision. There
are so many life-altering decisions to be made!
Children, assets, finances, homes etc. all have
to be split in two. Will you let a stranger make
these decisions for you?
After
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Tom LeBaron
McKenzie County North Dakota court records
DNA testing has three major applications for forensic studies: identification of missing persons; identification of victims of wars, accidents, and natural disasters; and crime investigation. Annually, more than 20,000 forensic DNA tests are performed in the UK. Two out of three of all criminal cases using DNA evidence involve sexual assault, the rest are cases dealing with burglary, murder, and other types of violent crime. During the last 15 years, DNA trial analysis became an indispensable police tool in fighting crime because it allows unambiguous identification of the criminal by traces of biological material left at the crime scene. It
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So you find yourself with a slip of paper that contains both a
dollar amount and a date. It's the dreaded speeding ticket. You
look at it and realize that you have two choices. You can pay
the fine and subject yourself to the possibility of higher
insurance premiums or you can plead "not guilty" and appear in
court.
Depending on how fast you were going over the legal, posted
speed limit, it might be wise to consult with a traffic ticket
specialist. However, many people are ticketed when their speed
is over the limit, but not dramatically. These people would do
well to save the money associated with an
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