THE BENEFITS of DNA testing in criminal cases ought to be widely available throughout the United States, to help punish the guilty and exonerate the innocent. A bill before the US Senate would do just that, if it is not gutted under pressure from the Justice Department.
The Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act passed the House with bipartisan support last November. It enjoyed similar backing in the Senate until Assistant Attorney General William E. Moschella sent a letter of opposition in April. The bill is now held up in the Judiciary Committee.
As approved by the House, the bill would authorize federal grants so that many more DNA samples could be gathered in rape cases. It would provide funds to reduce the backlog of DNA samples awaiting testing in state labs and promote the use of DNA to identify missing persons.
In his letter Moschella centered his objections not on these sections, which would encourage more DNA testing to prosecute the guilty, but on another section called the Innocence Protection Act, which would allow people convicted of crimes to seek exoneration through DNA testing. He contended that would encourage frivolous appeals by the guilty.
The innocence-protection section would allow a judge to insist on DNA testing only in the most serious federal offenses, including murder, and in state offenses in which the defendant has shown that he or she cannot get testing under state law. Not all cases would qualify. The government would have to possess a sample with which to compare the defendant's DNA. The finding would have to raise "reasonable probability" that he or she did not commit the crime.
These conditions should be sufficient to minimize overuse. And to make it less burdensome on states, the bill would authorize $5 million a year to help pay for additional tests.
The Justice Department also opposes a section that would provide grants to improve the quality of defense counsel in death penalty cases. This section would reduce the likelihood that state judges would appoint inexperienced lawyers to represent indigent defendants in these life-or-death trials. The Bush administration is a strong supporter of the death penalty, which we on this page oppose. If it is to be allowed anywhere in the United States, the federal government should use its resources to make sure defendants in capital cases are represented competently.
Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has filed a competing bill that strips away the Innocence Protection and death penalty sections. Kyl's alternative would devastate the bill's original intent. The US system of justice is balanced between respect for defendants' rights and the need to punish wrongdoers. The Senate should approve the bill as passed by the House to further these compatible goals.