Paternity index and attribution of paternity

Abstract

If blood typing and similar tests do not exclude a putative father in a paternity case, his probability of paternity can be assessed with the formulae of Essen-Möller[1938]. Gürtler[1956] uses an alternative route, viz. the paternity index, to reach identical end results. Majumder and Nei [1983] claim that the methods are not powerful enough. This opinion can always be defended, but may have been enhanced by their inadequate computer model. They also contend that current methods may more often than not lead to false attributions of paternity. This is outright erroneous.