WALL STREET JOURNAL: The Supreme Court on Monday signaled its interest in resolving a clash over the constitutionality of laws that authorize police to take DNA samples from people who have been arrested but haven’t been convicted of a crime…
Chief Justice Roberts suggested the odds of the Supreme Court considering the case were good, because the Maryland decision conflicts with the rulings of at least two federal appellate courts and the Virginia Supreme Court, which have upheld similar statutes.
“The split implicates an important feature of day-to-day law enforcement practice in approximately half the States and the Federal Government,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote. He said DNA collection from people arrested for violent crimes was “a valuable tool for investigating unsolved crimes and thereby helping to remove violent offenders from the general population.”.. (more)
