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You can bet that with this new law EVERYONE
stopped by the cops in California will be charged with a felony, even jaywalkers.
Of course the felony charges will be dropped after the cops get their DNA samples.
And as the article points out in the last two paragraphs Lily Haskell had this happen to her when she was arrested for a trivial misdemeanor crime. Lawyers grilled over California DNA sample law State requires genetic material from anyone arrested for felony by Paul Elias - Sept. 19, 2012 11:07 PM Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO - A California deputy attorney general, defending a state law requiring everyone arrested for a felony to provide a genetic sample, endured tough questioning Wednesday from members of an 11-judge federal appeals court panel. At least three of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges deciding the case made it clear they found the law distasteful, especially because it's the arresting officer and not judges or prosecutors who decide whether collecting a DNA sample is appropriate. "It's that officer who is there and decides a felony has been committed" triggering the collection of a DNA sample, said Judge Harry Pregerson. Judges Richard Paez and N. Randy Smith also were outspoken in their opposition. It will take the votes of six judges to invalidate the law. Before its complete enactment in 2009, only those convicted of a felony or those arrested for sexual assault or murder were required to provide samples. The changes were passed by 62 percent of the electorate as Proposition 69. Law enforcement officials say expanding DNA collection helps in solving cold cases. "It's a vital to public safety," argued Deputy Attorney General Daniel Powell. "It's my genetic material," said Lily Haskell, one of three people represented by the ACLU in challenging the law. "It's a serious invasion of my privacy. I don't want the government to hold on to my DNA." Haskell was arrested at an anti-war protest in San Francisco after an officer accused her of violating an anti-lynching law by interfering with the arrest of another. At the jail, she was told she faced misdemeanor charges and would not be released for another two days if she refused to submit to a cheek swab. She complied and was never charged with a felony. |