Ector County District Attorney Reacts to DNA Swab Decision
The Ector County District Attorney is reacting to a Supreme Court ruling. It states that police can collect DNA from criminal suspects without first getting a warrant. The question is whether it is unconstitutional to do that without a warrant, for the sole purpose of checking the DNA against a national DNA crime scene database.
District Attorney Bobby Bland says there's no Texas law that allows police to take a swab of a person once they're arrested for a serious crime, but he says, he's not opposed to it, if it ever becomes a reality in the state.
"My office has tried cold cases and we solved it by using DNA," District Attorney, Bobby Bland, said.
Bland is talking about an established law allowing DNA testing after a criminal defendant is convicted. It may change after the Supreme Court ruled Monday that a cheek swab for DNA is now allowed as long as the person being swabbed was arrested for a serious crime.
In a decision of five to four, the Supreme Court ruled the taking of an arrestees' DNA does not constitute an unreasonable search. In fact, the court says taking a person's DNA through a cheek swab is just like taking fingerprints or a photo.
"Texas includes only those who have been convicted of a crime. This would obviously expand it. But anytime you are talking about taking someone's DNA and putting it into a database, you need to make sure you're doing the right thing. The ethical and the moral thing," Bland said.
Monday's ruling involved a Maryland case where a man was convicted of rape based on a DNA sample taken during an arrest on an unrelated assault charge.
Bland supports the idea because he says it could bring justice to those who may have committed a crime and gone into the shadows.
"If it brings peace to a victim, help solve a crime that's remained unsolved and catches someone that did something truly reprehensible, then I think it would be worth it," Bland said.
Victims rights groups hope more states will pass laws allowing officers to take DNA from arrestees. Right now, all 50 states do obtain DNA from convicted criminals.