Cleveland County District Attorney Tim Kuykendall turned to the DNA testing last year. Defense attorneys and civil libertarians call the sweeps an improper violation of the constitutional right to privacy. A few such DNA dragnets have taken place in this country, but there's little precedent for determining their legality. Mass blood screenings are more common abroad, where the first was in 1987 in England when 5,000 people had their blood tested after two teen-agers were raped and murdered. Fred Leatherman, chairman of the Forensic Evidence Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said he knew of no legal challenges to block mass screenings in the United States.
Critics fear what happens to DNA samples after they're collected.
Some suspect they would be used in future investigations by forensic scientists who sometimes make errors, or that they might end up in the hands of health insurance companies that could see which diseases a person is predisposed to develop. It smacks of the kind of police state tactics that this country has gone to war against. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wash. If you have questions or comments, please contact us .