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ME: Reduced privacy interest of a parolee justified taking DNA after conviction, adopting totality test rather than special needs

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Maine departs from the majority on DNA testing of convicts and adopts the totality of the circumstances standard rather than special needs exception. The case involved a cold case hit off DNA taken from a parolee after a prior conviction. State v. Hutchinson, 2009 ME 44, 2009 Me. LEXIS 46 (April 30, 2009): [*P25] The extent of the physical intrusion on individual privacy authorized by the DNA Data Act is minor. Obtaining a DNA sample through a cheek swab is no more intrusive than taking a fingerprint. Moreover, the impairment of privacy rights by the State's use of the analysis of the DNA sample is mitigated by safeguards, contained in the DNA Data Act, that minimize the risk that personally identifiable information can be inappropriately mined or released...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 05, 2009 (boomark / email).