This week, a specially convened panel of 11 federal appeals court judges considered theย constitutionality of California’s controversial law mandating the collection of DNA samples from all arrestees whether they’re charged with a crime or not.
“California Attorney Generalย Kamala Harrisย and the Obama administration are urging the 9thย U.S. Circuit Court of Appealsย to reject theย American Civil Liberties Unionย legal challenge to the law, arguing the collection of DNA samples during the booking process is a simple cheek swab and a powerful law enforcement tool used to solve thousands of ‘coldย cases,'” writes the Associated Press’s Paul Elias.ย “The ACLU argues that the collection from all arrestees is an unconstitutional invasion of the privacy of suspects who are never charged with aย crime.”
The 11 judges, which ranged the entire political spectrum of presidential appointees,ย assembled in San Francisco to consider the case.
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Read the full, original story:ย Court to consider California’s DNA collection law
Additional Resources:
- “Supreme Court rules to uphold post-arrest DNA sampling,” Genetic Literacy Project
- “Electronic Frontier Foundation goes after warrantless DNA collection,” Electronic Frontier Foundation
