Attorneys in Virginia can take a class to learn about how forensic DNA evidence is analyzed, the Virginian-Pilot reports.
Virginia's Department of Forensic Science is offering the one-day course to prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges to familiarize them with, first, what DNA is and how it is found and then how it is analyzed and compared to other samples, it adds.
"Justice requires a level playing field, and I think this training is a major step in leveling the playing field between defense attorneys and prosecutors and helping to ensure they have the same knowledge base and background," Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley Cavedo tells the Virginian-Pilot. He notes that, prior to taking the course, all he knew about DNA evidence is what he had heard in court.
The paper adds that the forensics office also plans to offer a course on how blood alcohol testing for DUIs works.