BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Defense attorneys, civil rights and civil liberties groups lined up again this week to testify against bills calling for suspects arrested in violent crimes to submit to DNA tests.

The latest DNA bills are both broader and narrower than Gov. Martin O’Malley’s original proposal. Opponents call the proposed bills violations of constitutional protections against “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

“It’s not about the amount of intrusion,” said Stephen Mercer, a Montgomery County defense attorney. It’s about the information that’s being collected at the time of arrest. DNA, Mercer and others noted, is not just identifying information such as a mug shot or fingerprint, but contains information about health and ancestry related to suspects and their families.

Baltimore County Democrat Sens. Norman Stone and Jim Brochin, sponsors of a bill to require DNA samples from rape suspects, disagreed.

“I don’t believe it’s any more intrusive than taking a fingerprint,” Stone said at a hearing Thursday.

“I don’t see the unreasonableness of anything,” Brochin told Mercer.

“The fingerprint tells nothing about the person or the family,” Mercer said.

Brochin said that DNA can also be used to help exonerate people, as it did Kirk Bloodsworth, who had been sentenced to death for a murder he didn’t commit. But Patrick Kent, forensics chief for the public defender’s office, said the proposals are “not about exonerating people” but about collecting samples from people who haven’t been convicted of crimes.

The bills provide that samples from those arrested but not charged should be taken out of the database, but “we’ve never successfully implemented it” at the State Police Laboratory. “Expungement is never going to be anything other than hypothetical,” Kent said.

Elbridge James, of the Baltimore City chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the group opposed the practice because of the widespread arrests of 20,000 to 30,000 people in the city who are never charged with a crime. “Where’s the presumption of innocence?” James said.

Cindy Boersma of the American Civil Liberties Union said, “We know that DNA evidence now is being mishandled” and the organization does not want even more DNA samples put into an overloaded system.

llazarick@baltimoreexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

1:38 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008 re: "Md. House OKs DNA measure"

Examiner Reader said:
Even if one or two more crimes are solved due to this constitutional violation, which is highly doubtful, the end does not justify the means. Just curious to know why the black caucus was refered to as black crows by previous commentor. I could easily refer to the democrat caucus as democrat dummies, or republican caucus as the whiney republicans, or the women's caucus as worthless women. In this instance the black caucus was correct.

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1:20 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008 re: "Black lawmakers don�t support expanding DNA collection bill"

Examiner Reader said:
5:05, The ability to use DNA to potentially free innocent people is precisely what the black caucus fought for. The initial bill did not provide for that. Sandy "scumbag" Rosenberg chaired an effort to prevent those types of amendments that could help exonerate the innocent. Had it not been for Jill Carter who pushed amendments for exoneration and expungment for the innocent, on behalf of the black caucus, they would have not been included in the bill. 995 of cold cases solved have been through DNA taken from convicted criminals, not an accused person that is presumed innocent. This bill is bad policy that will not reduce crime.

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5:05 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Md. House OKs DNA measure"

EXAMINER READER said:
You know, DNA cuts both ways. DNA has also been the key to freeing innocent people who have served years for crimes they did not commit. I don't have a problem with my prints or DNA being on file, but I'm not planning on breaking into anyone's car today or taking someone's life. In principle, we should not have to have a national record of these things, but crime has reached epidemic proportions and our borders remain open to criminals of every kind. Extreme circumstances require extreme measures to achieve a solution. The Black Caucus (Black Crows) should focus on "in community" crime reduction measures. The majority of violent and property crimes are committed by blacks and against blacks. They should focus too on equality of sentencing guidelines where they'll find considerable support.

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2:25 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008 re: "Senate OKs DNA plan, but black lawmakers split"

Reader said:
I protest DNA testing after todays news, darn canibals this state of MD we are in.

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8:14 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008 re: "Black lawmakers don�t support expanding DNA collection bill"

Examiner Reader said:
Everyone that voted for this bill is guilty of a far worse crime than anyone they hope to target, and each legislator that voted "yes", as well as the governor should be forced to submit their DNA into CODIS and every other DNA database!

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5:19 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008 re: "Senate OKs DNA plan, but black lawmakers split"

BLACKMAN said:
Here we go again lets see what we can do about crime lets put people Human Prints on file, lets keep an eye on them by placing people who are innicent first and worring about them fixing it later but in the mean time lets file them,and watch them, it's gonna be a train wreck, and it's gonna prove again that this state is a police state

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6:25 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Martin said:
Martinee, clue Please.

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6:14 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Ernest P. McGee said:
I said it before and I'll say it again. The State Police ignored this problem for years. The Division of Parole and Probation has fixed this problem by collecting thousands of DNA samples over the past 12 months. Get a clue Martin! Thanks for the 2% raise!

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5:33 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Keep It Civil said:
It should not be inferred that O'Malley is like Hitler. Hitler had a higher approval rating.

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4:34 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Examiner Reader said:
The bill was introduced on behalf of O'Malley's administration. He will not be vetoing it. Although, to point out how hypocritical O'Malley is, the republican governor of South Carolina did veto this same legislation on the basis that is called for unconstitutional, privacy violations and would result in unreasonable searches. Why is O'Malley so-afraid to fight crime the legal and constitutional way? He should have learned after all those illegal arrests he caused in Baltimore, that cheating at the expense of the citizens doesn't work.

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4:27 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Examiner Reader said:
D, are you equating O'Malley with Hitler?

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3:02 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

4 O'Malley said:
An oversight occurs on these DNA test all the time, and its all thrown out of court. Too much for some idiot judges with no power to understand? How many drugs will be found if they DNA test everyone. Call it what it is, a violation of your constitutional rights. Get over it. Take a chill pill.

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2:02 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

D said:
Only O'Malley can no longer give support on DNA, a governor has the right to veto. Call it Hitler or the only arse of the State.

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12:31 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Nicole said:
I agree, the DNA bill is a lousy bill. The General Assembly will pass this lousy bill for the lousy reason that lousy O'Malley has pressured them to pass it. There is ONE non-lousy member that fought against this bill and did not vote for this lousy bill. The only democrat in the MD General Assembly that does not take her marching orders from a rogue governor, or a run-away assembly. Thank you, my delegate, Delegate Jill P. Carter, Dist 41, for standing up for democracy, the constitution, your constituents, and for America. Delegate Carter was the ONLY "NO" vote on the House Judidicary Committee on this lousy DNA bill!

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11:20 AM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "Black lawmakers don�t support expanding DNA collection bill"

Examiner Reader said:
The People's Republic of Maryalnd is at it again. This bill removes the presumption of innocense from everyone. If passed, you may as well collect DNA samples from every citizen, because there would be no distiction. This is a lousy bill, crafted and considered by a lousy general assembly.

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7:41 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Examiner Reader said:
No innocent person should be forced to give a DNA sample. Convicted criminals are a different story.

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7:09 AM MST on Sat., Mar. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Examiner Reader said:
This DNA bill is bad. Black lawmakers are correct to oppose it. WHAT IS WRONG WITH WHITE LAWMAKERS THAT THEY WOULD BE FOR IT? O'Malley is a fascist and a hypocrite of the worst order. He got caught having thousands of innocent people locked up in Baltimore. And now, he wants to lock people up and take their DNA. Does anyone truly trust this guy's motives? Even Sheila Dixon is smarter on crime than O'Malley simply because she has focused on arresting people that are actually committing crimes. Bad bill. Bad governor.

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8:52 AM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008 re: "O�Malley pushes for DNA expansion"

Examiner Reader said:
As long as it cost the taxpayers more money, Omalley supports it. It will give him another excuse to raise taxes again.

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5:43 AM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008 re: "O�Malley pushes for DNA expansion"

avid reader said:
O'Malleys DNA will prove that he is a true Jerk.

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7:46 AM MST on Mon., Feb. 4, 2008 re: "Some decry forced DNA tests in violent-crime arrests"

Duh. said:
Violent criminals should not have DNA put into a database, they should be executed and thrown into a pit.

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12:35 PM MST on Sat., Jan. 12, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

Ernest P. McGee said:
The State Police ignored this problem for years. The Division of Parole and Probation has fixed this problem by collecting thousands of DNA samples over the past 12 months. Get a clue Martin!

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4:23 AM MST on Fri., Jan. 11, 2008 re: "O�Malley calls for more DNA samples"

The Undertaker said:
O'Malley is a fascist who supports the IRA so it doesn't surprise me that he supports this.

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