People v. Rodriguez

196 Misc. 2d 217, 764 N.Y.S.2d 305, 2003 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 645
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedApril 1, 2003
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 196 Misc. 2d 217 (People v. Rodriguez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Rodriguez, 196 Misc. 2d 217, 764 N.Y.S.2d 305, 2003 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 645 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2003).

Opinion

[218]*218OPINION OF THE COURT

John M. Leventhal, J.

The People move to reargue this court’s prior decision (193 Misc 2d 725 [2002]).

Procedural History

On June 12, 2002, an indictment charging the defendant with various sex crimes was filed. By motion dated August 15, 2002, the People moved pursuant to CPL 240.40 (2) (b) (v) for an order directing the defendant to provide a blood sample for DNA testing. By cross motion dated September 20, 2002, the defendant consented to the taking of the blood sample, but sought an order of protection pursuant to CPL 240.50. By decision dated November 12, 2002, this court granted the cross motion. Finding good cause for the protective order, the court held that comparing the defendant’s DNA to uncharged crime scene DNA would constitute a violation of Executive Law § 995-d. The court declined to address the constitutional issues raised in the motion.1

The defendant has supplied the People with a blood sample for DNA testing and the defendant’s DNA has been compared with that found at the instant crime scene.

Although major portions of the People’s memorandum and the amicus brief focus on the constitutional issue, this court declines to decide the difficult constitutional issue (193 Misc 2d at 727).

The potential benefits to society from DNA research and its ramifications are in its infancy. DNA supplies information not only about the donor but also about the donor’s family (Wieder, Privacy Protection is Needed for DNA, 2002 L Rev Mich St U Det CL 927, 928; see KImmelman, Risking Ethical Insolvency: A Survey of Trends in Criminal DNA Databanking, Symposium, 28 JL Med & Ethics 209 [2000]). DNA information can be used to save lives, prevent diseases, identify missing persons, identify victims of disasters, convict the guilty and free the innocent. DNA profiles can determine paternity. Ge[219]*219netic information of an individual can be used to discriminate in employment, education, housing, and life and health insurance. Society is aware of the abuse of genetic information that had occurred in the last century. Sterilization laws were enacted in some parts of this country based on genetic defects (2002 L Rev Mich St U Det CL, at 928-929; see Buck v Bell, 274 US 200 [1927]) and one society attempted to use genetic knowledge to create a genetically superior race.

At this early stage, courts should not set in stone the constitutionality of DNA dragnets (see Grand, The Blooding of America: Privacy and DNA Dragnet, 23 Cardozo L Rev 2277 [Aug. 2002]; see Valdivieso, DNA Warrants: A Panacea for Old, Cold Rape Cases?, 90 Geo LJ 1009; Imwinkelried and Kaye, DNA Typing: Emerging or Neglected Issues, 76 Wash L Rev 413; Drobner, DNA Dragnets: Constitutional Aspects of Mass DNA Identification Testing, 28 Cap U L Rev 479), or undercover operations which follow suspects and obtain DNA material from glasses used by suspects in restaurants, from public drinking fountains or from hairs shed while walking on the street (see e.g. Symposium, Panel Two: Criminal Law and DNA Science: Balancing Societal Interests and Civil Liberties, 51 Am U L Rev 401, 409-410). Limitations on the governmental or private use of DNA information gathered by the above-described methods are more appropriately left to the Legislature which can hold hearings on the subject. The courts are ill-equipped to balance the beneficial uses of DNA data against the potential abuses of DNA profiles as required for a proper constitutional analysis (51 Am U L Rev 401, 405). Further, if this court has misinterpreted the import of the statute, the Legislature is free to modify the statute’s wording to conform to its true intent (see People v Damiano, 87 NY2d 477, 490 [1996]).

The New York State Legislature has addressed many of these and related problems in Executive Law article 49-B, Civil Rights Law § 79-1, CPL 440.30 (1-a), the Family Court Act sections dealing with paternity, and Public Health Law article 32-A.

For the purpose of this decision, the court uses the term “database” to mean locations containing numerically coded genotype identification information. “Databank” means the storage place of the original sample of DNA matter. “DNA index system” refers to the electronic or computerized indexing of DNA profiles (Kaye, The Constitutionality of DNA Sampling on Arrest, 10 Cornell JL & Pub Pol’y 455, 462; see also Execu[220]*220tive Law § 995-c [1] [computerized DNA identification index]). The phrase “defendant’s DNA profile” or “defendant’s DNA identification information” refers to the DNA information adduced from this court’s authorization for the taking of the blood sample.

DNA Information Regarding Nonconvicted Individuals

Britain, Canada, New Zealand and China permit the taking of materials containing DNA from arrestees or suspects who are alleged to have committed certain crimes (Stevens, Arresting Crime: Expanding the Scope of DNA Databases in America, 79 Tex L Rev 921, 949; Puri, An International DNA Database: Balancing Hope, Privacy, and Scientific Error, 24 BC Inti & Comp L Rev 341, 372-374). The United States Government prohibits the placing of DNA information of nonconvicted persons in the national DNA Index System called Combined Index System or CODIS (42 USC § 14132 [a] [1]). Any state failing to comply with the federal standards risks losing federal funding (Alfaro v Terhune, 98 Cal App 4th 492, 508, 120 Cal Rptr 2d 197, 209-210 [2002]). Any governmental official violating the federal statute in this area is committing a crime (42 USC § 14132 [c]). Also prohibited is the use of DNA information legally obtained under federal law for purposes other than specified by statute (42 USC § 14135 [e]). Thus, it appears to be national policy to prohibit the comparison of DNA identification information obtained from a nonconvicted person with crime scene DNA of unsolved crimes.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Texas and California authorize the taking of DNA samples from persons arrested for specified crimes (79 Tex L Rev 921, 948; Kaye, Two Fallacies about DNA Data Banks for Law Enforcement, 67 Brook L Rev 179, 180; 51 Am U L Rev 401, 410). In a letter dated October 12, 1999, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, in advocating the approval of the proposed legislation expanding the crimes for which DNA specimens may be taken, urged the New York Legislature to extend the law to all persons arrested for certain crimes. Former New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir had often urged the New York State Legislature to expand the State DNA Index System to include persons arrested for certain crimes (10 Cornell JL & Pub Pol’y, at 458; 79 Tex L Rev, at 949-950). New York Senate Bill S 1795, introduced on January 30, 2001 and NY Assembly Bill A 4486, introduced on February 12, 2001 would authorize the taking of DNA specimens from certain persons arrested for specific [221]*221crimes (10 Cornell JL & Pub Pol’y, at 508 n 11; 67 Brook L Rev 179, 206 n 5). Despite these calls, Executive Law article 49-B prohibits the placing of DNA profiles obtained from nonconvicted persons in the State DNA Index System (SDIS).

OCME’s Indexing System

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has two DNA indexing systems described as “databases” in the affidavit by Dr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
196 Misc. 2d 217, 764 N.Y.S.2d 305, 2003 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 645, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-rodriguez-nysupct-2003.