Keep DNA Evidence Private (Opinion)

Authors

Jonathan Witmer-Rich, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State UniversityFollow
Brendan Heil

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2-2012

Publication Title

Cleveland Plain Dealer / cleveland.com

Keywords

DNA profile, DNA database, police investigation, Ohio Supreme Court

Abstract

Discusses a November 2012 Ohio Supreme Court ruling. The court held that the Fourth Amendment does not protect an individual's personal DNA profile. In the court's words, "[a] person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her DNA profile extracted from a lawfully obtained DNA sample."

The case, State v. Emerson, originally involved DNA evidence legally obtained from Emerson through a valid warrant in a rape investigation. Emerson was acquitted of the rape charge, but his DNA profile was kept in the Ohio DNA database. His DNA profile could then be searched again and again, anytime law enforcement compared a sample from a new crime scene with the DNA profiles in the database.

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Original URL

Repository Citation

Witmer-Rich, Jonathan and Heil, Brendan, "Keep DNA Evidence Private (Opinion)" (2012). Law Faculty Articles and Essays. 1102.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/fac_articles/1102