In this April 14, 2011, file photo, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.ON THE WEB
The FBI’s frequently asked questions about its DNA databases: www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/biometric-analysis/codis/codis-and-ndis-fact-sheet
WASHINGTON – A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for police to take a DNA swab from anyone they arrest for a serious crime, endorsing a practice now followed by more than half the states as well as the federal government.
The justices differed strikingly on how big a step that was.
“Taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court’s five-justice majority. The ruling backed a Maryland law allowing DNA swabbing of people arrested for serious crimes.
But the four dissenting justices said the court was allowing a major change in police powers, with conservative Justice Antonin Scalia predicting the limitation to “serious” crimes would not last.