Legal

Dr. Monte Miller, Ph.D of forensicsdnaexperts.com says "Almost all of the forensic work has ethical and legal implications... On a brader [sic] scale these become...issues of justice for all of us. The biggest problem that I see almost daily is that some crime labs work for the District Attorney's Offices or the police department, and they answer directly to them. This causes a conflict of interest as the crime lab becomes the tool for the police to put somebody in jail. The good crime labs are independant [sic]. They simply look at the evidence, generate data and facts, report them, and explain them to the court system. When the analysts become biased the accused cannot get a fair trial." (Interview)

If reports are biased, like Dr. Miller says they may be from government crime labs, the accused may not have a fair trial, and they might be wrongly imprisoned. 

Gavel. (Image 7)

Ethics scale. (Image 6)

Ethical 

The invasion of privacy is a large concern by people today, because DNA is stored in databases. "DNA profiles are different from fingerprints, which are useful only for identification. DNA can provide insights into many intimate aspects of people and their families including susceptibility to particular diseases, legitimacy of birth, and perhaps predispositions to certain behaviors and sexual orientation." (Citation 6) 

Often times DNA samples can be stored because of an investigation, which does not necessarily mean that the suspect was a criminal or not. DNA contains information about a person that they themselves may not know, and people feel uncomfortable with the idea of strangers having access to this information. 

Social

Gene discrimination is when "people are treated differently...because they have a gene mutation that causes or increases the risk of an inherited disorder." (Citation 13) 

Because certain people have access to such personal information about a person through DNA, there is a concern that individuals may be discriminated against because of what is found in their DNA. Things like mutations, health issues, and even tendencies towards certain behaviors can be found in DNA, and because certain people can see this information, they can make judgments influenced by it. 

Gene discrimination political cartoon. (Image 8)