Opinion ID: 783790
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Act's Enforcement and Legislative History Show a Clear Law Enforcement Purpose

Text: 47 In determining the programmatic purpose of searches pursuant to the Act, we consider all the available evidence in order to determine the relevant primary purpose. Ferguson, 532 U.S. at 81, 121 S.Ct. 1281. The government argues that two purposes of searches pursuant to the Act are to help law enforcement solve unresolved and future cases, and to increase accuracy in the criminal justice system. The government's own argument establishes that prototypical law enforcement purposes underlie the DNA searches in question. Under the government's own theory, the searches are conducted in order to collect DNA evidence samples for CODIS, so that those samples may be used in criminal investigations, to help solve crimes and prosecute the culprits, and to enable law enforcement agencies to be more accurate and effective in achieving their law enforcement objectives. 48 Moreover, a review of the Act's enforcement and its legislative history makes it equally plain that searches pursuant to the Act serve a law enforcement purpose. First, while probation officers initially collect the samples, law enforcement officers, as in the South Carolina pre-natal drug testing program at issue in Ferguson, are extensively involved thereafter. Ferguson, 532 U.S. at 82, 121 S.Ct. 1281. Like the program at issue in Ferguson, suspicionless searches conducted pursuant to the Act evince a penal character with a far greater connection to law enforcement than other searches sustained under [the] special needs rationale. Id. at 88-89, 121 S.Ct. 1281 (Kennedy, J., concurring in the judgment). Under the Act, once Kincade's compulsorily extracted blood sample is included in CODIS, it has no other purpose than to aid law enforcement in matching his DNA to that which may be found at crime scene investigations, and thus to help determine whether Kincade is the person who has committed certain crimes and, if so, to facilitate his prosecution and conviction. 30 49 Next, it is clear that in passing the Act mandating these suspicionless searches, Congress was primarily concerned with the swift and accurate solution and prosecution of crimes generally; the legislative history is replete with references to the utility of DNA evidence in prosecuting crimes. See DNA Act House Report, at 8-11, 23-27, 32-36 (2000). For example, in addressing whether or not the DNA information collected would be used for insurance or medical purposes, the Department of Justice assured the House Committee that existing legal rules for the DNA identification system generally ensure that DNA samples and indexed information will be used solely for law enforcement identification purposes.  Id. at 25 (emphasis added); see also DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, 146 Cong. Rec. S11645-02, at S11647 (2000) (Each day that DNA evidence goes uncollected and untested, solvable crimes remain unsolved, and people across the country are needlessly victimized. (quoted in Reynard, 220 F.Supp.2d at 1156 n. 15)). 50 It is also apparent that the executive branch understands law enforcement to be the primary objective of searches pursuant to the Act. See, e.g., Dep't of Justice, Using DNA to Solve Cold Cases 4 (July 2002) (stating that the DNA database system is a powerful tool for law enforcement); Dep't of Justice, No Suspect Casework DNA Backlog Reduction Program (FY 2001), at 1 (August 2001) (DNA evidence used in conjunction with the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is a powerful investigative tool beginning at the crime scene with the collection of evidence and ending with a judicial conclusion.); see also Justice Dep't. Acts to Clear DNA Backlog, MIAMI HERALD, Aug. 2, 2001, at 19A (quoting Attorney General Ashcroft as saying DNA technology can operate as a kind of truth machine, ensuring justice by identifying the guilty and clearing the innocent.). In sum, the record overwhelmingly demonstrates that the Act mandating these suspicionless searches was enacted, is enforced, and is understood by all concerned to serve the purpose of law enforcement, and to further its objectives. 51