Arrested in O.C.? A DNA sample could buy freedom

[question everything]

latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oc-dna17-2009sep17,0,7594003.story

latimes.com

Arrested in O.C.? A DNA sample could buy freedom
Guilty or not, people arrested can avoid the hassle of court if they give their DNA sample to the district attorney. The program raises privacy and equity concerns among legal scholars.

By Tami Abdollah

September 17, 2009

Orange County, which already has one of the nation's most aggressive programs for taking DNA samples from convicts, has quietly begun offering a deal to some people who have only been arrested: give a DNA sample and have your charges dropped.

The district attorney's office, which runs its own database, has started expanding its program by handling some cases "informally," Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas told the Board of Supervisors this week. In those cases, if a person who has been arrested agrees to give a DNA sample, "we would not even file" charges. "There'd be no necessity for a guilty plea, and a dismissal, or anything like that," he said. "It's advantageous to the defense, and it's advantageous to us, because we're able to handle more cases with fewer resources."

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The plan became public when Rackauckas sought approval from supervisors to add a mandatory $75 fee to the deal. Supervisors approved the fee, allowing Rackauckas' department to process more DNA profiles at a time of state budget cuts. The plan applies to people arrested for nonviolent misdemeanors, including petty theft, trespassing and low-level drug-possession felonies.

Representatives of some Orange County police agencies objected to the idea of the district attorney releasing suspects whom their officers have arrested and booked. "All law enforcement will be demoralized, especially on narcotics cases," said Wayne Quint, president of the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs.

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Civil liberties advocates and defense attorneys say the plan would allow prosecutors to wrongly pressure people who have not been convicted of any crime to give the government a DNA sample... Erwin Chemerinsky, the UC Irvine Law School dean and constitutional scholar, said he was troubled by the program although he supports reducing the number of people imprisoned for nonviolent offenses.. He also questioned whether a $75 fee would prevent release for those too poor to afford it.

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[TheWraith]

1. This is SO dangerous it's not even funny. nt

[Gman2]

2. NOT! Should we let out murderers? The judge orde3red the jails emptied.