DNA testing is in the news a lot these days,
and not solely because of the saga of Anna Nicole Smith, whose burial
was delayed amid a legal tussle over the paternity of her 5-month-old
daughter, Daniellyn.
The growing success in obtaining
convictions by genetic matching (since the O.J. Simpson trial anyway)
has made it the preferred identification technology for law
enforcement, as well as by other federal agencies. The U.S. military
requires every serviceman to give blood for future DNA analysis,
presumably for body identification.
States are among the most
aggressive users of DNA testing. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently
upheld a Garden State law requiring DNA testing of all felons, with the
results maintained in a state database and submitted to the FBI.
Other
states that have initiated extensive DNA collection policies include
Virginia and Arizona -- the latter tests, collects, and stores the
results not only from convicted felons but also from most people who
are simply arrested for a felony. Florida is now considering collecting
DNA from everyone convicted of a felony, as well as from those found
guilty of certain misdemeanors.
Municipalities are climbing
onto the DNA testing bandwagon, too. A blood bank in Seattle has begun
collecting and analyzing DNA from donated blood without obtaining
explicit permission, although donors may opt out. The program is funded
by the U.S. military. To protect the privacy of donors, the Puget Sound
blood bank labels the samples with codes instead of printed names. For
the record, that's not a very secure strategy.
Race Traces
A
little-noticed provision in the recently passed Violence Against Women
Act may soon trigger the largest sweep of DNA information in this
country. The Justice Dept. plans to collect DNA from anyone arrested or
detained by federal agents. This will, by definition, include all
illegal immigrants.
The increasingly widespread use of DNA
testing opens a Pandora's Box of privacy issues. Technicians can
extrapolate information about a person from the sample of their brother
or son. In Houston last year, a man's conviction of rape was partially
based on DNA evidence collected from his twin brother.
And
the process isn't without its bizarre anomalies. For example, people
who have received bone-marrow transplants can in certain cases match
the DNA of a donor.
