DNA Evidence & Testing

Rulings about DNA collection at arrest and access to DNA testing after a conviction. Summaries from Criminal Defense Resources™ are general education for pro per/pro se defendants and families, not legal advice.

3 rulings, newest first.

• Maryland v. King

  U.S. Supreme Court · June 3, 2013 · 569 U.S. 435 (2013)

  The Court held that when officers arrest someone for a serious offense with probable cause and bring the person to the station, taking a DNA cheek swab is a legitimate booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, like fingerprinting and photographing.

  DNASearch & seizure

• Skinner v. Switzer

  U.S. Supreme Court · March 7, 2011 · 562 U.S. 521 (2011)

  The Court held that a convicted prisoner seeking DNA testing of crime-scene evidence may bring that claim as a federal civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, rather than only through habeas corpus.

  DNA

• District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne

  U.S. Supreme Court · June 18, 2009 · 557 U.S. 52 (2009)

  The Court held that there is no freestanding federal constitutional right to obtain evidence for post-conviction DNA testing, and that the state's procedures for post-conviction relief were adequate.

  DNA