United States v. Miles

228 F. Supp. 2d 1130, 187 A.L.R. Fed. 723, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21111, 2002 WL 31439363
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedOctober 31, 2002
DocketCR.S-95-325 WBS
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 228 F. Supp. 2d 1130 (United States v. Miles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Miles, 228 F. Supp. 2d 1130, 187 A.L.R. Fed. 723, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21111, 2002 WL 31439363 (E.D. Cal. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SHUBB, District Judge.

Defendant Danny Miles is currently on supervised release following his 1996 conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Defendant’s probation officer directed him to submit a blood sample for deoxyribonucleic acid (“DNA”) analysis pursuant to the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. § 14135. Defendant refused to appear for DNA testing, and consequently a petition was filed charging defendant with a violation of the conditions of his supervised release. Defendant now moves to dismiss the petition. Defendant has otherwise complied with all conditions of his supervised release, and would have successfully completed his term of supervision in August 2002.

I. Factual Background

On December 19, 2000, Congress enacted the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000. 42 U.S.C. § 14135; Pub.L. No. 106-546, 114 Stat. 2726 (Dec. 19, 2000)(“The Act”). The Act provides, in pertinent part:

The probation office responsible for the supervision under Federal law of an individual on probation, parole, or supervised release shall collect a DNA sample from each such individual who is, or has been, convicted of a qualifying Federal offense (as determined under subsection (d))....

42 U.S.C. § 14135a(a)(2). “Qualifying federal offenses” are limited to certain categories of violent crime, including homicides, sex offenses, kidnaping, robbery, and con *1132 spiracies to commit those offenses. See 42 U.S.C. § 14135a(d).

The Act requires cooperation with the collection of a DNA sample as a condition of supervised release, and makes failure to cooperate a misdemeanor offense. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 14135c; 14135a(a)(5). The Act also authorizes the probation office responsible for the supervision to use reasonable means to detain, restrain, and collect samples from a person who refuses to give them voluntarily. See 42 U.S.C. § 14135a(a)(4)(A).

In addition, the Act requires the probation office to furnish each DNA sample to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of analysis and indexing in the Combined DNA Index System (“CODIS”). 42 U.S.C. § 14135a(b). CODIS is a national index of DNA samples taken from convicted offenders, crime scenes and victims of crime, and unidentified human remains that “enables law enforcement officials to link DNA evidence found at a crime scene with a suspect whose DNA is already on file.” 146 Cong. Rec. S11645-02, S11647 (Dec. 6, 2000)(statement of Sen. Kohl); see also 42 U.S.C. § 14132(a); 106 H.R. 900. The Act further authorizes disclosure of a DNA sample or result to “criminal justice agencies for law enforcement identification purposes,” in “judicial proceedings,” and “for criminal defense purposes, to a defendant.” 42 U.S.C. §§ 14135e(a)(b),14132(b)(3).

The Act also provides a number of privacy protections, including limiting the use of the information, criminalizing the knowing, unauthorized retention or disclosure of a DNA sample, and’expunging a person’s DNA records upon proof that each of his convictions for a qualifying offense has been overturned. See id; 42 U.S.C. §§ 14135e(c), 14132(d).

In 1974, defendant was convicted of armed robbery, which is considered a “qualifying federal offense” under the Act. 28 C.F.R. § 28.2. He is currently serving a term of supervised release for a 1996 conviction for a non-qualifying federal offense, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Defendant contends that he is not required to submit to DNA testing under the Act because the offense for which he is currently under supervision is not a qualifying offense. Alternatively, defendant argues that the Act violates the Fourth Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Ex Post Facto Clause.

II. Discussion

A. Interpretation of 42 U.S.C. § 141S5a(a)(2)

Whether the Act applies to defendant depends on what the meaning of “has been” is. The Act requires the probation office to collect a DNA sample from any individual on supervised release “who is, or has been, convicted of a qualifying Federal offense.” 42 U.S.C. § 14135a(a)(2). Defendant interprets this provision to mean that DNA sampling is required of a supervisee who “is or has been” convicted of a qualifying offense, and is now under supervision for that offense. The government contends that the terms of the Act require testing of any supervisee who “is or has been” convicted of a qualifying offense, regardless of whether his current supervision is the result of his conviction for the qualifying offense.

The question of whether section 14135a(a)(2) covers people like defendant who are currently under supervision for a non-qualifying offense but who have been convicted of a qualifying offense in the past appears to be a matter of first impression. The court’s analysis therefore begins, as it must, with the language of the statute itself. Lewis v. United States, 445 U.S. 55, 60, 100 S.Ct. 915, 63 L.Ed.2d 198 (1980); Tello v. McMahon, 677 F.Supp. 1436, 1441 (E.D.Cal.1988)(if there is no *1133 binding authority construing statute, the court must undertake its own independent analysis beginning with examination of statutory text).

If the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous, it must ordinarily ’be regarded as conclusive. North Dakota v. United States, 460 U.S. 300, 312, 103 S.Ct. 1095, 75 L.Ed.2d 77 (1983).

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Bluebook (online)
228 F. Supp. 2d 1130, 187 A.L.R. Fed. 723, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21111, 2002 WL 31439363, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-miles-caed-2002.