Tip of the Month:
Who decides what is "Legally Admissible"?

One of the most common buzzwords thrown out by all DNA labs is the phrase, "Legally Admissible." This is intended to provide the consumer with assurances that he/she will be able to use these results to prove something in a court of law, or to any organization asking for this information.

This has led to an interesting phenomenon. Consumers, and even attorneys, are relying on the legal opinions offered by medical practitioners and business people. Every attorney knows that nothing can be declared "legally admissible", until the court says it is. And any attorney can attempt to have any evidence discounted by the court for a variety of reasons.

Without a doubt, there are certain guidelines that most, if not all courts follow. Testing must be performed, and results must be furnished by an AABB approved laboratory. Additionally, strict chain of custody procedures must be followed. Given these considerations, it is true that most courts will accept DNA test results as proof of relationship or against relationship. However, the labs cannot guarantee that every court will agree on the significance of DNA testing, nor that each court will have the same requirements for admitting DNA evidence.

In industry terms, the phrase, "legally admissible", only means that the lab meets the standards that are generally asked for by courts. As opposed to the less expensive home kits, these tests maintain certain standards, such as chain of custody. But, are they absolutely legally admissible? That is not a question for the lab; it is a question for the court.