Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California

DNA Illegally Collected

I was briefly in county jail for civil contempt of court and before I was released the deputy demanded, and gently scraped, a DNA sample from my cheek. This procedure is, as I understand it, only supposed to be done to felony arrestees, and I think they erroneously thought this a felony offense - the deputy kept asking ''when I was going upstate.'' What, if any, legal remedies do I have? I would like the sample returned and deleted from all databases, at a minimum. I would like to keep them from doing this to others. And yes, I am quite upset over this.


Asked on 4/16/09, 6:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: DNA Illegally Collected

You can be as upset as you like, and you can spend a ton of money tilting at that windmill, but that DNA profile is in the database now and forever, unless and until you are able to convince a judge to issue an order for what you propose, which is far from assured, and then you somehow get the various state and federal database maintaining agencies to honor that order, which is also far from assured. Unless you're willing to spend a substantial amount of attorney fees at high risk, don't start. If you are willing and able to spend that money, and if you understand you will be warned in writing that there is no assurance of success in this venture, then feel free to contact me. BTW: any claim you might like to make against the agency for taking the sample is probably barred by the doctrine of governmental immunity, which protects them for their acts of negligence.

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Answered on 4/16/09, 8:00 pm


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