A Brief of Genetics, Genomics and Forensic Science Researchers in Maryland v. King

23 Pages Posted: 2 Mar 2014 Last revised: 21 May 2014

See all articles by Henry T. Greely

Henry T. Greely

Stanford Law School

David H. Kaye

PSU - Penn State Law (University Park); ASU - College of Law & School of Life Sciences

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

In Maryland v. King, 133 S. Ct. 1958 (2013), the Supreme Court held that Maryland’s statute requiring DNA samples from individuals arrested for crimes of violence or burglary did not violate the Fourth Amendment. One factor in the Court’s analysis is the extent to which the forensic DNA profiles invade medical privacy. The majority stated that “[t]he argument that the testing at issue in this case reveals any private medical information at all is open to dispute.” With respect to this dispute, eight scientists and two law professors filed a brief in support of neither party seeking to explain what current science tells us about the information conveyed by the thirteen short tandem repeats known as “CODIS markers,” the variations in DNA generally used in the United States for forensic identification. This publication consists of the core of the brief along with a foreword about the continuing legal significance of the issue.

Keywords: DNA databases, CODIS, medical privacy, genes, junk DNA, ENCODE, forensic science

Suggested Citation

Greely, Henry (Hank) T. and Kaye, David H., A Brief of Genetics, Genomics and Forensic Science Researchers in Maryland v. King (2013). Jurimetrics, Vol. 53, No. 1, 2013, Penn State Law Research Paper No. 8-2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2403063

Henry (Hank) T. Greely (Contact Author)

Stanford Law School ( email )

559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
United States
650-723-2517 (Phone)
650-725-0253 (Fax)

David H. Kaye

PSU - Penn State Law (University Park)

Lewis Katz Building
University Park, PA 16802
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.personal.psu.edu/dhk3/index.htm

ASU - College of Law & School of Life Sciences ( email )

111 E Taylor St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.personal.psu.edu/dhk3/index.htm

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