Law Weblog

Low Copy Number DNA approved by Court of Appeal

Thursday 24 December 2009 at 9:16 am | In News | Post Comment Low Copy Number (LCN) DNA testing had been suspended since the judge in an Omagh bombing case questioned its validity in 2007.

The Home Office carried out a review of its applicability for court purposes and in 2008, which concluded that it was scientifically robust and therefore appropriate for court cases.

This week the Court of Appeal upheld the convictions of two brothers Terry and David Reed who were convicted of murder in 2007.

The court said challenges to the science behind Low Copy Number (LCN) DNA testing should no longer be permitted in most trials.
The Court of Appeal rejected evidence from a former senior scientist with the FBI who had said that results using the LCN method should not be put before a jury.

Whole case here