ABSTRACT
Recognition of the value of DNA as a means of individual identification in the late 1980s led to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) establishment of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 1990. The system initially began as a pilot project and served 14 states and local laboratories. In 1994, Congress passed Public Law 103-322, the DNA Identification Act (42 U.S.C. §14132). This act formalized the FBI’s authority to establish a national DNA index for law enforcement and to establish DNA indexes for persons convicted of crimes, samples recovered from crime scenes, and samples recovered from unidentified human remains. On October 13, 1998, the FBI announced the operation of the National DNA Index System (NDIS).
