Politics & Government

Howard, Montgomery Officials Decry Maryland DNA Ruling

Maryland court says DNA collection violates constitutional right against unreasonable searches.


This week, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that authorizing law enforcement to collect DNA from anyone arrested for a crime of violence is unconstitutional.

The court made the ruling when it overturned a rape conviction and life sentence Tuesday.

Law enforcement officials in Howard and Montgomery counties are among those protesting the ruling.

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Howard County State’s Attorney Dario J. Broccolino, president of the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association, called the ability to collect DNA samples from suspects an “important crime fighting tool,” according to a press release.

are also urging Attorney General Doug Gansler to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court decision.

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The conviction and sentence of Alonzo Jay King Jr. was overturned Tuesday in a 5-2 vote. The court ruled Wicomico County police violated King’s Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches when they arrested him in 2009 and took a sample of his DNA, according to court documents and a story on the Washington Post.

The DNA collected from that arrest generated a match to a sample collected from a 2003 sexual assault forensic examination, according to documents stating the court opinion.

That match provided was the only probable cause provided for a grand jury indictment of King on rape charges, according to court documents. King was convicted of first-degree rape and sentenced to life in prison.

"The DNA evidence presented at trial was a fruit of the poisonous tree," the court opinion states.

The sample was taken under the Maryland DNA Collection Act which allows police to collect DNA samples from individuals who are arrested, but not yet convicted, for crimes of violence or burglary or attempting these crimes.

Tell us in the comments: Should police have the right to search a person arrested in connection with a violent crime? Or is it a violation of rights?


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