Aggregated News
In the first decision of its kind in the nation, a split appellate court has ruled in a Sacramento case that DNA testing is a legitimate condition of release on bail for a federal defendant charged with a felony but not yet convicted.
Before a federal felony can be charged, there must be probable cause to believe the defendant has committed the crime, two members of a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted in Tuesday's 47-page opinion.
Under those circumstances, the majority ruled, the government's interest in definitively identifying the defendant "outweighs the defendant's privacy interest in giving a DNA sample as a condition of pre-trial release."
The 2-1 opinion affirms a ruling in July 2009 by Sacramento U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia, who adopted the exhaustive findings and analysis of U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows.
Garcia reiterated that "no Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search) or other constitutional violation is caused by the universal requirement that a charged defendant undergo a 'swab test,' or blood test when necessary, for the purposes of DNA analysis."...
Before a federal felony can be charged, there must be probable cause to believe the defendant has committed the crime, two members of a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted in Tuesday's 47-page opinion.
Under those circumstances, the majority ruled, the government's interest in definitively identifying the defendant "outweighs the defendant's privacy interest in giving a DNA sample as a condition of pre-trial release."
The 2-1 opinion affirms a ruling in July 2009 by Sacramento U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia, who adopted the exhaustive findings and analysis of U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows.
Garcia reiterated that "no Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search) or other constitutional violation is caused by the universal requirement that a charged defendant undergo a 'swab test,' or blood test when necessary, for the purposes of DNA analysis."...
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