The Pros And Cons Of Fingerprinting And Blood Testing

One of the many freedoms we enjoy, as Americans is the right that protects us from unreasonable search and seizures; as well as the necessity for a search warrant when law enforcement wishes to search someone’s property. This right is known as the Fourth Amendment and it contains two clauses: the first one is the reasonableness clause, which states that we are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. The second part is the warrant clause, which states that a warrant must be issued upon the finding of probable cause. It must then be supported by an affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and what us intending to be found.

The fourth amendment protects citizen’s right against unreasonable search and seizures. Law enforcement are required to show probable cause to be issued a warrant which grants law enforcement to conduct a legal search. There are a few exceptions when a warrant is not required, but probable cause is still needed.

The Fourth Amendment sets limits on the government’s rights to search our homes and businesses and to seize documents and other personal effects. It requires that the government have probable cause for the search and seizure. That is, there must be good evidence to support the specific search. Two key problems arise from new

DNA forensics can also narrow down suspect pools, exonerate innocent suspects, and link crimes together if the same DNA is found at both scenes. However, without existing suspects, a DNA profile cannot direct an investigation because current knowledge of genotype-phenotype relation is too vague for DNA phenotyping. For example, a profile from a first time offender that has no match in any database may give the information that the criminal is a left handed male of medium stature with red hair and freckles. It would be impossible to interview every man who fits that description. However, with available suspects, DNA forensics has many advantages over other forms of evidence. One is the longevity of DNA. Although it will deteriorate if exposed to sunlight, it can remain intact for centuries under proper conditions (Sachs, 2004). Because DNA is so durable, investigators can reopen old cases to reexamine evidence.

The 4th Amendment protects citizen from law enforcement officials being able to search them or their property without a warrant.” To obtain

Fourth amendment states that the right of the people shall be secured in terms of their houses, offices, papers, and effects cannot be searched without any warrant. However, if any case demands warrant for search or there is a requirement for probable cause then it shall be issued. The warrant for searching a place so issued must mention the place to be searched, and for seizure purpose, things shall be mentioned in it. The search warrant shall be supported by oath or affirmation. The government give its people the benefit of violating nay search without search warrant. This provides safety to the people of the state, city and country.

Moreover, in an attempt to limit unnecessary and unreasonable infringements on citizen’s rights, the law has made it so that the government or any governmental agency must seek permission from a magistrate before they are able to conduct searches. This step was created as a safeguard for the American citizen, but this can cause much agitation for those seeking a warrant; nevertheless, we all must comply with the guidelines outlined in the Fourth Amendment (Varone J. C., 2012).

The legal definition pertaining to a search and what authorizes a search has modified overtime due to decisions made in various court cases. Professor Rose at Stetson Law gives an overview of searches and seizures; the professor elaborates on the steps used when determining the legality of the Fourth Amendment. The six steps of the broad Fourth Amendment template include: who does the Amendment apply to, has there been a search or seizure/seizure, is there probable cause, did law enforcement need to get a warrant, is the search conducted by law enforcement reasonable, and what happens if there is a violation of the Fourth Amendment (lecture 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3rXXu9_QxA). Additionally, the factors crucial for a search to

For over a century fingerprints have been one of the most used tools of forensic science. Fingerprints have been used to identify criminals of small crimes

The 4th Amendment protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures. This not only protects out of the blue searches for no reason, but invasion of privacy. This keeps authority figures from searching like, maybe a car trunk. This also makes it to where they need a valid reason and a search warrant. They can’t just walk through someone’s doors and begin searching with no reason,

The use of fingerprinting as a means of identification was born out of the need of law enforcement officials to have permanent records that could determine if a convict had been previously arrested or imprisoned. Before the advent of fingerprinting, law enforcement used a number of different methods to try to accomplish this. Ancient civilizations would tattoo or physically maim prisoners. In more recent times, daguerreotyping (that is, photographing) was used, but proved to be less than reliable, because people had the ability to dramatically alter their appearance (Skopitz). As a result, this method too, became obsolete with the discovery of fingerprinting, an absolutely infallible

When conducting possible searches and seizers, the Fourth Amendment is made to protect unreasonable conduct. Due to

DNA Fingerprinting, also known as DNA Profiling, is a method used to identify a person using DNA patterns that are specific to him/her. 99.9% of DNA is identical in every human being, but .01% is enough to distinguish between people. It is most commonly used in criminal cases to link a criminal to his/her crime scene, but is also used for paternity/maternity tests, and immigration records. Usually a skin, hair, or body fluid sample is collected from a crime scene or criminal or test candidate, then DNA is extracted and cut using enzymes that recognize patterns in DNA and run through a gel by an electric current in a process called electrophoresis (Annely).

Fingerprinting is used for many things, such as a robbery, or at a crime scene. Fingerprints were first discovered in 1870 by Alphonse Bertillon, who was a French anthropologist. In 1892, Juan Vucetich had made the first criminal report using a fingerprint. In 1905 America used fingerprints for identification. When America started using fingerprints for identification they had to match the fingerprints manually when needed. When technology was able to enter fingerprints, and match them with anonymous ones, it helped identification immensely.

Every time somebody touches something, they leave behind a unique signature that forever links them to that object. This link is their fingerprints, which are unique to every person, for no two people have the same set, not even family members or identical twins. Palms and toes also leave prints behind, but these are far less commonly found during crime scene investigations. Therefore, fingerprints provide an identification process that is applicable to background checks, biometric security, mass disaster identification, and most importantly, crime scene investigations. Fingerprints are so differentiated because they are made up of distinct patterns of ridges and furrows on the fingers. The ridges are the “raised” portions of the prints, and the furrows are the “recessed” portions. This perceived uniqueness has led some people to falsely accept fingerprint analysis as absolute scientific fact. Although overall fingerprints are reliable, there are definitely situations where their accuracy can come into question.