In 2015, after being arrested for DUI, Ian Mitchum agreed to have a blood sample taken to test his blood alcohol level. He was told the samples would be destroyed after 90 days. Instead, law enforcement held it for his three years. Detectives then used this old blood sample without obtaining a warrant for an entirely different purpose – to extract and analyze Mr. Mitchum’s DNA while investigating another crime.
This clearly violates Mr. Mitchum’s constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment, as we will argue in the Arizona Court of Appeals tomorrow and stated in a friend of the court brief. Nevertheless, the state makes terrible claims to justify its actions. In other words, states have the power to obtain DNA profiles from any biological sample in their legal possession without judicial oversight or approval.
The results of this discussion are appalling. Our DNA contains highly personal and sensitive information, such as medical history, possible future health conditions, ancestry, and information about appearance. It could reveal details about not only us, but our family, including future children. When combined with other public data, it exposes highly personal information such as previously unknown family history of adoption, false paternity attribution, risk of premature death, or siblings we didn’t know about. may occur. In light of this, DNA collection and analysis amounts to seizure and search under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. And the government must obtain a warrant before it can pull it out.
But in this case, the state could ignore that requirement because Mr Mitchum consented to the blood sample three years ago, even if he consented to it being taken only for a blood alcohol test, and the sample would be provided. argue that it should have Destroyed after 90 days.
With this rationale, all of us who have consented to the collection of biological samples for any government agency at any time, for any purpose, are subject to post-warrant-free DNA testing.
This means that governments can use our biological material, from blood taken from newborns to test for disease, to organs donated for transplants, to specimens collected from survivors of sexual assault. Considering every situation where you can legally access to, it is very dangerous. If the state’s claims are accepted, in theory, police could extract DNA from any person’s biological material and create a genetic profile without a warrant.
Many federal agencies collect our biological materials for important public health purposes. Blood, fluids, tissues, and other biological material are collected to study the genetic and environmental factors associated with disease in order to develop new treatments. To measure exposure to pollutants, biological samples are collected from people who live near pollution sites or from populations that may be at high risk of exposure to environmental pollutants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects biological samples, such as nose and throat swabs, to study changes in the virus and develop new treatments. It also collects data from about 5,000 people each year to “assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children.”
Additionally, governments collect biological materials for more personal purposes and people consent to their use, which is also different from criminal investigations. For example, some US citizens and legal permanent residents provide oral swabs to verify family ties to people. seeking immigration to America. People donate their biological material to aid in identification or discovery. missing family.Olympics and Paralympics Submitted by Athlete Biological samples, including blood, are submitted to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for testing for prohibited substances.
Sample collection is often targeted at minority communities.For example, Tulsa, Oklahoma hired a scientist to collect DNA From blacks to identify relatives of individuals killed during the Tulsa race massacre. In Arizona, where this incident is taking place, the Pima County coroner’s office is currently collect DNA Collected from individuals in Latin America to help identify more than 1,200 bodies. Given the country’s history of systematic abuse, the risks posed by unfettered access to genetic information for marginalized communities are beyond doubt.
Without constitutional protection, the risk of governments misusing these resources to generate and analyze genetic profiles at will is likely to increase. Consider how law enforcement acted in this case, as well as their actions in other criminal investigations where DNA is collected from discarded or discarded items without the suspect’s knowledge or consent. This kind of abuse would not be surprising, then, and would not be far off. Moreover, when privacy protections are compromised, so is public trust in these important government programs. Without this trust, critical medical and public health research will be compromised.
Even if a government agrees to collect biological samples for specific purposes, it cannot allow free genetic testing for criminal investigations. A warrant is required.
