WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court, in a huge victory for law enforcement, ruled 5-4 last week that taking a DNA sample from prisoners accused of serious crimes does not violate the Constitution. <\/p>\n
To the outrage of civil liberties advocates, the ruling was not about defendants who had been convicted of a crime. All 50 states allow DNA sampling of those convicted of a felony. The ruling addressed those who had merely been accused of a serious crime. <\/p>\n
The underlying case is fairly stark. <\/p>\n
In 2003 a man concealing his face and armed with a gun broke into a woman's home in Salisbury, Md. He raped her. Police were unable to identify him, but they did take a sample of the invader's DNA from the woman. <\/p>\n
In 2009 Alonzo King Jr. was arrested in Wicomico County, Md., and charged with first- and second-degree assault for menacing a group of people with a shotgun. \"As part of a routine booking procedure for serious offenses, his DNA sample was taken by applying a cotton swab or filter paper -- known as a buccal swab -- to the inside of his cheeks. The DNA was found to match the DNA taken from the Salisbury rape victim.\" <\/p>\n
King subsequently was convicted of the rape. <\/p>\n
A Maryland appeals court set aside the conviction, finding that the state act authorizing DNA collection from felony arrestees was unconstitutional. <\/p>\n
The narrow U.S. Supreme Court majority reversed the state appeals court. <\/p>\n
Writing for the unusual mix of justices in the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said putting a swab into a prisoner's mouth to take a DNA sample, like fingerprinting and photographs, did not violate the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches. <\/p>\n
Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia led the dissent. He was joined by the court's three women -- all liberals -- Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Scalia was so disgusted by the majority opinion he read his dissent from the bench -- something a justice does only when he or she is pretty worked up. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Continue reading here: WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Continue reading
\nUnder the U.S. Supreme Court: DNA ruling a big win for police<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"