The concept underlying this website and H. Michael Steinberg's other websites - is to provide concerned Colorado individuals with as much information as they might need to aid in their understanding of the Colorado and Federal criminal legal process.

The only thing that can help reduce the stress and anxiety of this situation is having an experienced lawyer to represent you and to provide you with much needed legal advice, guidance, and aggressive representation.

Pager: 303.543-4433 or Cell in emergencies at 720-220-2277
Colorado Criminal Defense Attorney H. Michael Steinberg is an experienced and dedicated legal professional whose career spans more than 40 years litigating exclusively Criminal Law Cases in Colorado. He uses that experience and specialization to serve all of his clients facing criminal charges in Colorado. He handles every case himself - personally - and therefore unlike many other criminal defense law firms - he does not assign his cases to younger inexperienced associate lawyers.
Contact Us

    Please use the contact form to send us an email - and receive a response within 12 hours.

    Emergency? Call 720-220-2277 (24/7)







    Map To Our Office
    Read Out Blog
    Case Evaluation
    Charged With A Crime?

    DNA Evidence

    DNA evidence is now common in our courts. Here’s how it works:

    Until the 1990s, the only sure-fire way to establish the identity of an individual was to examine his or her fingerprints. That is because each individual’s fingerprints have a unique pattern. Now, DNA is rapidly becoming the method of choice when it comes to linking individuals with crime scenes and criminal assaults.

    Most people know that our inherited characteristics come from chromosomes and genes. Since the 1950s, science has also known that the chromosomes consist of self-replicating molecules known as deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, and that our genes consist of subsets of these very-large molecules. Now, as the end of the century rapidly approaches, we are on the verge of learning which genes result in which characteristics. While this knowledge promises untold rewards in the treatment of disease, agricultural production and an understanding of life itself, it is also being used as a means to uniquely identify individuals and to link individuals to criminal activities.

    The universally accepted theory underlying DNA analysis is that every person (except an identical twin) has certain elements of his or her DNA that are unique. Different methodologies allow experts to identify these distinguishing elements. The most common of these methodologies is “RFLP,” or the “Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Technique.” By comparing an individual’s known DNA with a sample of DNA from a crime scene (for example, in a droplet of blood or a strand of hair), an expert can give an opinion concerning the likelihood that both samples came from the same individual.

    This sort of technology is extremely complex; few people are able to understand it. And yet the major crime labs and, increasingly, local police agencies, are becoming adept at comparing DNA samples left at the scene of a crime with DNA taken from a suspect — and concluding on that basis that the suspect is the culprit.

    DNA evidence is also proving to be a powerful tool in determining the innocence of prisoners who were tried before DNA testing in its current form was an option. If bodily samples, such as blood or semen, were collected from the crime scene or victim and that evidence is still available for DNA testing, a showing that the prisoner’s DNA doesn’t match the crime-scene DNA can be a powerful reason to conclude that the prisoner is innocent and should be released. A number of prisoners who were sentenced to death have been cleared through this technology.

    The conclusion that a DNA match proves the defendant’s guilt is based primarily on the assumption that the probability against one individual matching another is in the hundreds of millions, or even billions, depending on who is crunching the numbers. However, as overwhelming as these figures may seem, it’s still possible to whittle them down to far less overwhelming odds — or even to no odds at all — if it can be shown that the methods used by the laboratories doing the testing were flawed in some manner. It is this approach, among others, that the defense team in the O.J. Simpson case used to mount its defense against what appeared to be overwhelming DNA evidence implicating O.J. Simpson as the guilty party.

    If you found the information provided on this webpage to be helpful, please click my Plus+1 button so that others may also find it.

    ___________________________
    H. Michael Steinberg Esq.
    Attorney and Counselor at Law
    The Colorado Criminal Defense Law Firm of H. Michael Steinberg
    A Denver, Colorado Lawyer Focused Exclusively On
    Colorado Criminal Law For Over 40 Years.
    The Edward Building
    8400 East Prentice Ave, Penthouse 1500
    Greenwood Village, Colorado, 80111
    Primary Web Site:  http://www.HMichaelSteinberg.com
    Colorado Criminal Law Blog:  www.Colorado-Criminal-Lawyer-Online.com
    Main:  303.627.7777
    Cell:  720.220.2277
    24/7 Pager:  303.543.4433
    FAX (Toll Free):  1.877.533.6276
    Always investigate a lawyer's qualifications and experience before making a
    decision to retain that lawyer or, for that matter, any professional ...in any field.