By JESSE J. HOLLAND

(AP) In this April 14, 2011 file photo, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy testifies on...
Full Image


WASHINGTON (AP) - A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday said police can routinely take DNA from people they arrest, equating a DNA cheek swab to other common jailhouse procedures like fingerprinting.

"Taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court's five-justice majority.

But the four dissenting justices said that the court was allowing a major change in police powers.

"Make no mistake about it: because of today's decision, your DNA can be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason," conservative Justice Antonin Scalia said in a sharp dissent which he read aloud in the courtroom.

At least 28 states and the federal government now take DNA swabs after arrests. But a Maryland court was one of the first to say that it was illegal for that state to take Alonzo King's DNA without approval from a judge, saying King had "a sufficiently weighty and reasonable expectation of privacy against warrantless, suspicionless searches."

But the high court's decision reverses that ruling and reinstates King's rape conviction, which came after police took his DNA during an unrelated arrest. Kennedy wrote the decision, and was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer. Scalia was joined in his dissent by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Getting DNA swabs from criminals is common. All 50 states and the federal government take cheek swabs from convicted criminals to check against federal and state databanks, with the court's blessing. The fight at the Supreme Court was over whether that DNA collection could come before conviction and without a judge issuing a warrant.

According to court documents, the FBI's Combined DNA Index System or CODIS - a coordinated system of federal, state and local databases of DNA profiles - already contains more than 10 million criminal profiles and 1.1 million profiles of those arrested.

In the case before the court, a 53-year-old woman was raped and robbed but no one was arrested. Almost six years later, Alonzo King was arrested and charged with felony second-degree assault. Taking advantage of the Maryland law that allowed warrantless DNA tests following some felony arrests, police took a cheek swab of King's DNA, which matched a sample from the 2003 Salisbury rape. King was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison.

King eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor assault from his arrest, a crime for which Maryland cannot take warrantless DNA samples. The state courts said it violated King's rights for the state to take his DNA based on an arrest alone. The state Court of Appeals said King had "a sufficiently weighty and reasonable expectation of privacy against warrantless, suspicionless searches." But the high court's decision reinstates King's conviction.

Maryland stopped collecting DNA after that decision, but Roberts allowed police to keep collecting DNA samples pending the high court's review.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20130603/DA6MB4680.html

Views: 121

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

cheeki kea commented on Burbia's photo
Thumbnail

What's in Macron's hand? Cocaine bag?

"I think folks need to watch the vid and make up their own minds about the question. It's not…"
1 hour ago
cheeki kea posted a photo
2 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Vampires of Washington DC

 There are many forms of vampire from the supposedly mythical humanoid form to the actual bat that…See More
18 hours ago
Less Prone posted a video

How to make a modern heating stove that millions of people do not know

How to make a modern heating stove that millions of people do not know
20 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Monday
Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
Monday
tjdavis's blog post was featured
Monday
Burbia's blog post was featured
Monday
cheeki kea's blog post was featured
Monday
Less Prone posted a video

PFIZER-GATE verdict - A resounding Slap in the Face for Ursula von der Leyen

🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧🇦🇺 | ++ PFIZER-GATE verdict - A resounding slap in the face for EU corruption-president Ursula von der Leyen ++💉💰 1.8 billion doses of corona...
Monday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Strange Horror Story (Told in First Person)

 It was 3 AM and I was just getting off work. Owning a small service business, I worked commercial…See More
Saturday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post If History is Ever Portrayed as It Really Happened
"Most likely one of their many butt buddies! "
Saturday
Burbia posted a blog post

James Comey appears to call for the assassination of President Trump

I'm sure these are the kind of shells Comey is implying here. …See More
May 16
Doc Vega posted blog posts
May 15
rlionhearted_3 commented on Doc Vega's blog post If History is Ever Portrayed as It Really Happened
"The “white dude in the center” is Bill Gates. People been planning shit for generations."
May 15
rlionhearted_3 favorited Doc Vega's blog post If History is Ever Portrayed as It Really Happened
May 15
Burbia posted videos
May 15
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's blog post The Dems Love Their Demons
"Gruesome AI romance photography! "
May 14
Doc Vega favorited tjdavis's blog post The Dems Love Their Demons
May 14
rlionhearted_3 posted a photo
May 14

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted