Bodies of Science and Law: Forensic DNA Profiling, Biological Bodies, and Biopower

Victor Toom

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    42 Citations (Scopus)
    44 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    How is jurisdiction transferred from an individual's biological body to agents of power such as the police, public prosecutor and judiciary, and what happens to these biological bodies when transformed from private into public objects? These questions are examined by analyzing bodies situated at the intersection of science and law. More specifically, the transformation of 'private bodies' into 'public bodies' shall be analyzed by going into the details of forensic DNA profiling in the Dutch jurisdiction. It will be argued that various 'forensic genetic practices' enact different 'forensic genetic bodies'. These enacted forensic genetic bodies are connected with various infringements of civil rights, which become articulated in exploring these forensic genetic bodies' 'normative registers'.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)150-166
    JournalJournal of Law and Society
    Volume39
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012

    Keywords

    • forensic genetics
    • bodies

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Bodies of Science and Law: Forensic DNA Profiling, Biological Bodies, and Biopower'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this