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DNA - A Prosecutor’s Practice Notebook Inventory

Planted or Switched DNA

The defense may assert the defendant's DNA was planted or switched. First, the prosecutor should establish a documented timeline for the evidence from collection through typing. Second, the prosecutor should establish what type of evidence (blood, semen, etc) was collected and what standards were obtained (from blood or saliva). Third, the prosecutor should analyze what type of evidence was allegedly planted, how was this evidence allegedly obtained by law enforcement, and when and why was it allegedly planted. Fourth, the prosecutor should interject the defense argument into the timeline and determine how it compares chronologically. The prosecutor needs to determine what is inconsistent with the defense argument and what things must reasonably follow to assume the defense argument to be true. Describe to the jury the fallacies in the defense's theory.

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