Essay about Collection of DNA Without Consent

Submitted By jimmyhmmnd1
Words: 592
Pages: 3

Collection of DNA Without Consent
Jimmy R. Hammond
CJA/444
April 23, 2015
Jon Holman

Collection of DNA Without Consent
Introduction
Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid or DNA is the body’s chemical fingerprint. It is a tool that law enforcement has begun to rely on more and more in the field of criminal investigations. This paper will look at its collection without the consent of the body it comes from, how long it can be kept, and can it be used to match against other crimes within the scope of similar crimes.
Without Consent Collection
In 2009 the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) refused to hear the arguments of one Glenn Raynor who was convicted of rape and sentenced to 100 years after DNA collected from a chair he was sitting in was gathered without his consent and should of not been used against him as a violation of the 4th Amendment. The lower courts held that we expel DNA constantly and therefore do not have the same expectations of privacy and protection under the unreasonable search and seizure clause. The silence of the SCOTUS basically up held that decision (Ramsey, 2015).
DNA and Unrelated Crimes
In late May and early June 2013 the SCOTUS ruled in a deeply divided 5-4-court decision that law enforcement agencies could use DNA collected based solely on suspicion of a crime. The court held that in Maryland v. King, that the use of Mr. King’s DNA though collected for a crime he was accused of and not yet convicted could legally be used to match against other crimes. Mr. King’s DNA that was taken without his consent and used to solve a rape the eventually saw Mr. King charged with, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. The court in its decision for the first time openly turned back the argument that the use of DNA collected before a conviction and matched to a crime that there is no suspicion that the person committed is not a violation of the 4th Amendment (Terbush, 2013).
Length in the System
Currently at the state level there is not across the board set requirement to expunge the DNA records of those wrongly convicted, released from prison, or a match based off a sibling match. Currently the federal system does expunge the records of those cleared, however the federal government does not manage or control state databases. States like