Supreme Court: Maryland DNA Ruling Conflicts With Other States

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts continued a stay in the Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that had stopped police departments in Maryland from collecting DNA samples from some arrestees.

Now, police in Maryland can continue to collect the samples until the Supreme Court issues an opinion. 

Roberts, in a four-page order, wrote that there is a reasonable chance that Maryland could win its appeal and overturn the Court of Appeals ruling.

"[The Maryland Court of Appeals] decision conflicts with decisions of the U. S. Courts of Appeals for the Third and Ninth Circuits as well as the Virginia Supreme Court, which have upheld statutes similar to Maryland’s DNA Collection Act," Roberts wrote.

Prior to the Court of Appeals ruling, police departments were permitted to collect DNA samples from people arrested on felony charges.

The review of the procedure was in response to an appeal filed by Alonzo King, who was arrested in 2009. Wicomico County collected King's DNA at the time of his arrest and later charged him in a 2003 rape, for which he was ultimately convicted.

Lawyers for King argued that the DNA swab violated their client's Fourth Amendment rights.

Police departments around the state  at the end of April while the Maryland Attorney General appealed the decision.

“Over the last few years, we have been able to remove violent offenders from our streets and solve serious cases that may have gone unsolved,” said William J. McMahon, Howard County Police Chief and president of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, in a statement after the April 24 ruling.

“Our job...is to protect our citizens from dangerous criminals,” said McMahon. “For us to continue to do that in the most effective ways possible, Howard County Police and the Maryland Chiefs of Police are urging for this decision to be appealed."

Other police chiefs echoed his concern.

"This is the biggest setback to law enforcement in 20 years," Takoma Park Police . "It's a sad day for law enforcement and it's a sad day for the judicial system

Roberts on July 18 pending a response from King's attorneys.

One day later, Baltimore County police Chief Jim Johnson announced his agency based on Roberts' initial order.

Other agencies around the state have followed suit.

"It was something we did in the past according to the guidelines, and we suspended after the last ruling," Amy Miguez, an Annapolis Police Department spokeswoman, said. "Now with this ruling, we are starting to collect samples again."

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Annapolis Patch Editor Anna Staver and Elkridge Patch Editor Elizabeth Janney contributed to this report.