New York High Court Rules Police Can Resume Familial DNA Searches for Crime Suspects
Court ruling overturns previous block on identifying potential suspects through relations' genetic data, amid raised concerns about privacy and improper targeting.
- The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that police can resume familial DNA searches, a method allowing law enforcement to identify relatives of potential crime suspects through genetic material left at a crime scene.
- This ruling overturns a lower court's decision from last year that had blocked the practice due to privacy concerns and allegations of improper targeting.
- The case was brought forward by two men, both brothers to convicted criminals, who argued that they could be unfairly targeted due to their familial connection and the presence of their brothers' genetic data in state databanks.
- Writing for the majority, Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson stated that the state's process for regulating these searches was lawful, and privacy protections had resulted in very few search results being provided to law enforcement.
- The ruling only applies to the state’s DNA databank and does not extend to databases maintained by private companies for genealogical research.
Washington Post 
Associated Press 
