In episode one of our Research and Considerations for Sexual Assault Cases season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Rachel Lovell, Research Assistant Professor as Case Western Reserve University, and Mary Weston, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney at the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, to discuss lawfully owed DNA. Lawfully owed DNA is defined as a sample of DNA from a qualifying offender that should have been entered into the Combined DNA Index System but was not. Although legislation defines that a qualifying offender’s DNA sample be submitted into CODIS, this historically has not always been the case, resulting in thousands of lawfully owed DNA samples. Mary Weston and Dr. Rachel Lovell are working to correct this issue in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Listen along as they discuss the collection and potential legal and research implications associated with lawfully owed DNA samples in this episode of Just Science.

This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.