Prosecutor survey

DNA Survey Development 10

DRAFT PROSECUTOR SURVEY

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Name: _____________________________________________

Position/Title: _______________________________________

Jurisdiction: _________________________________________

Chief Prosecutor: _____________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________

Phone#: ____________________

E-mail: _____________________

INTRODUCTION

1. Approximately what percent of your cases involved DNA evidence from January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2005?

___ 0%

___ 1 – 25%

___ 26 – 50%

___ 51- 75%

___ 76 – 100%

2. More specifically, for the following criminal indictments from January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2005, please indicate approximately how many involved the introduction of DNA evidence:

Type of Crime	0%	25%	50%	75%	100%
Murder	0%	25%	50%	75%	100%
Sexual	0%	25%	50%	75%	100%
Other Violent Crimes	0%	25%	50%	75%	100%
Burglary	0%	25%	50%	75%	100%
Other Property Crimes	0%	25%	50%	75%	100%
Other: ___________	0%	25%	50%	75%	100%

3. What types of crime lab agencies are used by your office? (Select all that apply)

Percent of time used (0-100%)

___ Police crime lab _____

___ State crime lab _____

___ Private crime lab _____

4. Please rate the following in regard to which encounters create the most challenges for you when using DNA evidence?

Strongly agree=SA, Agree=A, Neither agree nor disagree=N, Disagree=D, Strongly disagree=SD.

	SA	A	N	D	SD
Law enforcement challenges:
Delay in sending samples to labs for analysis	SA	A	N	D	SD
Lack of training in the collection of DNA evidence	SA	A	N	D	SD
Quality of testimony in court proceedings	SA	A	N	D	SD
Evidence retention by:
Crime lab	SA	A	N	D	SD
Law enforcement	SA	A	N	D	SD
Crime lab challenges:
Sample consumption without notification to prosecutor’s office	SA	A	N	D	SD
Backlog	SA	A	N	D	SD
Access to new technology	SA	A	N	D	SD
Lack of lab accreditation	SA	A	N	D	SD
Analysts’ failure of proficiency tests	SA	A	N	D	SD
Lab error (e.g., false positive/negative reporting)	SA	A	N	D	SD

5. Has your state enacted legislation on DNA databases?

___ Yes

___ No

5a. Has your state enacted a database for specific enumerated offenses?

___Yes

___No

If yes, which offenses? (Check all that apply)

___ Murder ___ All felony arrestees

___ Sexual assault ___ etc…

___ Burglary

5b. Has your state’s DNA database legislation resulted in:

___ more resources to outsource sample processing.

___ more resources made available to your state lab for sample processing.

___ all of the above.

___ none of the above.

___ other (please specify) _____________________________________

5c. How has your state’s DNA database legislation affected sample processing times:

___ Faster

___ Slower

___ About the same

6. Regardless of whether or not your state has any applicable state statutes, has your jurisdiction established written procedures for the collection, preservation, and retention of biological crime scene evidence?

__ Yes __ No __ Unsure

6a. If yes to question 6, when were the procedures established?

___ Within the past 2 years

___ 3-5 years ago

___ 6-8 years ago

___ 9-10 years ago

___ More than 10 years ago

7. Please rate the following statements from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

Strongly agree=SA, Agree=A, Neither agree nor disagree=N, Disagree=D, Strongly disagree=SD.

When a case involves DNA evidence:

	SA	A	N	D	SD
The office is more likely to file charges on the case	SA	A	N	D	SD
The office is more likely to consider a plea to a reduced charge.	SA	A	N	D	SD
The case is more likely to be pled as charged	SA	A	N	D	SD
The case is more likely to go to trial.	SA	A	N	D	SD

8. After sending evidence to a public lab, what is the average length of time it takes to receive DNA results?

___ Less than a week

___ 8-14 days

___ 15-30 days

___ 1-2 months

___ 2-3 months

___ 4-5 months

___ 5-6 months

___ More than 6 months

9. After sending evidence to a private lab, what is the average length of time it takes to receive DNA results?

___ 1- 30 days

___ 1-2 months

___ 3-4 months

___ 5-6 months

___ More than 6 months

10. What factors, in your experience, influence the time it takes to process DNA evidence and please indicate the time allocated (in days) for each factor.

Allocated Time

1. High profile _____

2. Availability of financial resources _____

(e.g., sending to state lab vs. private lab)

3. Type of crime _____

4. Need of lab to outsource sample _____

5. Statute of limitation _____

6. Suspect/No suspect _____

7. Trial date _____

8. Other (please specify) _____

9. Other (please specify) _____

11. When sending evidence to be analyzed at a lab, please indicate the level of priority the evidence is sent based on the type of crime?

(1 = low priority to 5 = high priority)

____ Murder

____ Sexual Assault

____ Burglary

____ Other (please specify) _________________________

____ Other (please specify) _________________________

12. At what point in time do you classify a case as a “cold case?”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12a. For cold cases, how many new DNA hits have you used to identify suspects from January 1, 2005-December 31, 2005? _______________________________

13. For new cases with unknown suspects, how many DNA hits have resulted in the identification of a suspect from January 1, 2005-December 31, 2005?______________________________________________

14. What priority level for sending evidence is assigned for post-conviction testing?

___ High priority

___ Medium priority

___ Low priority

15. What percentage of cases have you had to request a “continuance” or “adjournment” or “dismiss and rebring” (depending on your jurisdiction) during a trial because there was a delay in receiving DNA results from a lab?

___ 0%

___ 1 – 20%

___ 20 – 40%

___ 40 – 60%

___ 60 – 80%

___ 80 – 100%

TRAINING

16. In the past 48 months, what percentage of attorneys handling DNA cases in your office have received specialized training in DNA evidence?

___ 0%

___ 1 – 25%

___ 26 – 50%

___ 51 – 75%

___ 76% – 100%

17. What type of DNA training have they received? (Please check all that apply)

___ Scientific

___ Legal application/procedural

___ Other: ________________________________________________

18. What types of procedural training have prosecutors received in your office?

___ Cross-training with law enforcement

___ Cross-training with lab analysts

___ Trial advocacy training

___ Lecture-focused prosecutor based training

___ Training with lab analysts

19. Who provides DNA training for prosecutors in your office? (Choose all that apply)

___ American Prosecutors Research Institute

___ National Advocacy Center

___ University faculty

___ Crime lab

___ Other (please specify) ____________________________________

20. Is any of the DNA training that your office receives supported by federal DNA grants/money?

___ Yes

___ No

20a. If no, where does the funding for training come from?

___ State funding

___ Local funding

21. Do you believe your office needs (or prosecutors in your office need) DNA related training?

___ More training is needed

___ Less training is needed

___ Training that prosecutors in this office receive is sufficient.

22. In your opinion, please select from the list below the types of DNA training that your office needs?

Develop a checklist

23. Do you feel that individuals from law enforcement in your jurisdiction receive adequate DNA training? Yes/No (please explain) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FUNDING/RESOURCES

24. Does your office receive any federal funding to reopen DNA evidence related cases?

___ Yes

___ No

25. How frequently are you unable to request processing of DNA samples due to insufficient funding?

26. Regarding DNA-evidence related cases, does your office prioritize the use of federal funding for (please circle that apply):

1. cold cases

2. backlog

3. processing DNA

4. post conviction

27. How are federal funds used in your office to process DNA-evidence related cases? (Create % Table)

staff positions/personnel

equipment

training

expert witness

storage/preservation

28. Under what circumstances would you send evidence to a private or public lab?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

a. What criteria do you use? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Is there a budget for such use of private versus public labs? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

29. What is the average cost of analyst interpretation and consulting on DNA evidence?

1. $0 to $500

2. $501to $1,000

3. $1,001 to $2,000

4. More than $2,000

COMMUNICATION

30. What are the challenges faced by prosecutors in your office in presenting DNA evidence to jurors?

___CSI effect

___Jury trust in the science of DNA

___Jury trust in the system’s collection/use of the DNA evidence

31. In general, how knowledgeable do judges appear to be about DNA evidence?

___ Very knowledgeable

___ Somewhat knowledgeable

___ Not very knowledgeable

32. What has been your office’s experience working with law enforcement related to DNA evidence (e.g., when, how often, quality of interaction)? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

33. Does your office have an internal mentoring or training program for DNA case development?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

34. Are victims or families notified of DNA report results?

___Yes

___No

34a. If yes to question 34, when are they notified:

a. during investigation phase

b. during pre-trial phase

34b. If yes to question 34, who notifies victims or families?

a. Prosecutor

b. Victim advocate

c. Law enforcement

35. Please provide an example of how law enforcement, crime labs, and prosecutors collaborate on cold case hits? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

35a. What are the challenges and benefits to these interactions? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

36. Do prosecutors notify crime labs and law enforcement of the outcome of the case?

___ Yes

___ No

37. Does your office have a protocol for the communication with the lab when a case is settled prior to testing being completed?

___ Yes

___ No

37a. If yes, what is the time period for communication? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

38. Do you communicate back to lab result of case?

___Yes

___ No

38a. If yes, generally when does this notification occur? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

39. How often does the lab communicate sample consumption? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

40. Do your state lab analysts provide any formalized mentoring to the prosecutors in your office?

___ Yes

___ No

40a. If yes, by what means does it take place?

1. telephonic

2. email

3. prosecutor visit to state lab

4. analyst visit to prosecutor office

41. Who makes the decision to outsource sample processing within your office?

1. By the lab

2. By the prosecutor

3. Jointly

41a. If the decision is made by the lab, are you consulted before the sample is outsourced?

___Yes

___No

41b. If the decision is made by the lab, are you notified?

___Yes

___No

42. Who makes the decisions regarding the sample testing (e.g., whether nuclear

testing is sufficient or mtDNA necessary)?

42a. How is that communicated? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

43. Does your office have a protocol for the prioritization of evidence? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

44. Is there communication of priority to lab for evidence typing?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

44a. Who sets the criteria for prioritization of evidence typing?

1. Prosecutor’s office

2. Lab

3. Both

/home/ec2-user/sec/disk/omb/icr/200703-1121-002/doc/2259001Revised 5-16-06