Maryland V. King (2013)
Definition
US Supreme Court decision holding that the collection of a DNA sample from an individual arrested for a serious offence does not violate the Fourth Amendment, permitting all US states to include arrestee profiles in CODIS.
- Court
- US Supreme Court
- Year
- 2013
- Holding
- Arrestee DNA sampling does not violate the Fourth Amendment
- Practical effect
- Permits arrestee profiles in CODIS nationwide
Common questions
What was the Fourth Amendment reasoning that let the Court uphold arrestee DNA collection?+
The majority treated the cheek swab as a search but found it reasonable, comparing it to fingerprinting and photographing as a routine booking procedure serving a legitimate law-enforcement identification interest, which the Court weighed against the arrestee's reduced expectation of privacy while in custody.
Did Maryland v. King settle whether states must collect DNA from every arrestee?+
No, the ruling only held that such collection is constitutionally permissible; each state decides for itself whether and for which offences to collect arrestee DNA, so practice still varies across US jurisdictions even after the decision.
Related terms
- CODIS (Combined DNA Index System)
- The FBI-managed software architecture for the US national forensic DNA database, operating through a three-tier structure of local (LDIS), state (SDIS), and...
- EU Prüm Framework
- The legal framework created by Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA allowing automated hit/no-hit cross-border searching between EU member states' national DNA, fingerprint,...
- Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG)
- A forensic identification technique that uploads a crime-scene DNA profile to a consumer genealogy database, identifies partial matches suggesting distant family relationships,...
- NDNAD
- National DNA Database (UK); the world's first national forensic DNA database, established in 1995, operated by the National DNA Database Strategy Board....
- S and Marper V. UK (2008)
- European Court of Human Rights Grand Chamber judgment holding that indefinite retention of fingerprints, cellular samples, and DNA profiles of unconvicted individuals...
- SDDIS
- System for DNA Data and Index Support; the proposed national DNA database architecture under India's DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill...