-Judge Joseph Harris (1988) in People vs Wesley, 140 Misc. 2d 306, 533 N.Y.S. 2d 643 (Co. Ct. 1988) (Quoted in “DNA Fingerprinting- An introduction” by Lorne T. Kirby page xv: Stockton Press, 1990)
Forensic Science is a field of study that uses scientific principles and established laboratory procedures to identify and characterize evidence found at the site of a criminal investigation. Recent developments in basic research have led to new and exciting methods of criminal analysis. The most well-known and valuable new method applied to forensic evidence is that of human DNA identity testing. According to an article in Analytical Chemistry, February 1, 2005, “forensic laboratory staffing, state and local laboratories in the northeastern United States, which has 51 million residents, employed only -850 forensic scientists in 2001.” The authors of the report and others conclude that “an additional 10,000 new forensic scientists are needed nationwide over the next decade to address the expanding backlog.”
