Milwaukee Criminal Defense Law Blog

The basic science behind DNA testing is sound enough. Each individual has DNA that varies as much as one person varies from another. With the right technology, we should be able to compare a DNA sample found at a crime scene with one taken from a suspect.

That is, we should be able to do a fair comparison of those samples as long as:

• The evidence was gathered and preserved correctly
• There was no break in the chain of evidence
• The test used to compare the samples is scientifically valid
• The test was performed correctly, and
• The testimony about the test results is not exaggerated

If you were charged with a misdemeanor, you might decide to plead guilty just to get out of jail and go home. By definition, the penalty for a misdemeanor must be less than a year behind bars, and most people receive far less than that. In many cases, a guilty plea results in no jail time at all.

In contrast, demanding a trial could be ruinous if you can't make bail. You could be in jail for months awaiting a trial date. Not only would your life be on hold, but you could easily lose your job and even your housing. For many people, there is simply no question of trial -- they simply must take a plea regardless of guilt.

Shawn K. was 15 when he and three other teens broke into a neighbor's house looking for cash. Shawn's job was to guard the back door. Unfortunately, things did not go as expected and the homeowner was seriously injured and ultimately died. Although no one, not even prosecutors, accused Shawn of harming the victim, he was still found guilty of first-degree murder. How? The felony murder rule.

In most of the United States, people can be found guilty of first-degree murder if a death results from the commission of certain dangerous felonies. In other words, if the defendant was involved in the commission of any of a list of serious crimes, that defendant is considered responsible for any death that results.

With constant calls for police to stop racial profiling, law enforcement agencies want concrete, race-neutral information to help them target people based on their behavior alone. Many officers believe that a small number of people are responsible for the majority of non-drug street crime. Identifying those people could be crucial to keeping crime down.

Police might once have hauled in "all the usual suspects," but arresting people without probable cause is unconstitutional. Plus, "the usual suspects" were often simply people of color with whom the police had already had contact.