FGG Court-Readiness Check | Genetic Genealogy for Law Enforcement

FGG Court-Readiness CheckCould your agency explain, reconstruct, and defend its forensic genetic genealogy process if a court asked tomorrow?This 12-question operational self-assessment identifies governance and court-readiness gaps before a case forces your agency to defend the process. FGG does not end when a name is generated — discovery disputes increasingly reach beyond the final DNA comparison and into the work that produced the investigative lead.What this checksPolicy, authorization, competency, documentation, quality assurance, vendor governance, discovery access, preservation, privacy/database controls, and testimony readiness.The 12 questions

Does your agency have a written FGG policy that defines when FGG may be used and who may authorize it?

Has your agency established minimum competency requirements for anyone conducting or directing genealogy work?

Could your agency reconstruct the complete FGG investigative timeline from the case file?

Are genealogy research notes, family trees, hypotheses, exclusions, match information, and supporting records preserved as part of the investigative file?

Does your agency have a defined quality-assurance or independent-review process for material FGG conclusions?

Does your vendor agreement require preservation and production of case-related records if requested by the agency, prosecutor, or court?

If a vendor labels material “proprietary,” does your agency already have a process for handling discovery demands, protective orders, or restricted disclosure?

Can your agency identify every database searched, the rules in effect at the time, and who performed each search?

Are communications among investigators, laboratories, genealogy vendors, federal partners, and prosecutors retained when they concern material FGG decisions?

Does your agency distinguish the FGG investigative lead from later confirmatory STR evidence and document the corroboration between them?

Could the person who performed or supervised the FGG work explain the methodology, decisions, limitations, and records under cross-examination?

Before submitting an FGG case, does your agency assess discovery, privacy, vendor, competency, preservation, and courtroom implications — not just whether a vendor can generate a name?

Not legal advice. This is an operational readiness assessment for law-enforcement agencies. Take the interactive assessment to receive your score, readiness category, and priority gaps.Explore the FGG Capability & Competency Program · Schedule an Agency Consultation