Court Opinion

ID: 9885217
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:55:23.135496+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:39:44.827902
License: Public Domain

*219OROZCO, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
¶ 39 The issue in this case is whether the State, pursuant to A.R.S. § 8-238, may extract a DNA sample from a juvenile arrestee who has been charged with a covered offense. Judge Gemmill holds that such DNA extraction is only justified after a judicial determination that probable cause supports detaining the juvenile; Judge Norris opines that in all cases the State has failed to justify such DNA extraction. I agree with Judge Gemmill that the search and seizure does not unduly burden the reduced privacy interest of a juvenile defendant subject to pretrial detention. However, I would decline to address the constitutionality of the statute as applied in the absence of a probable cause finding because the statute does not apply in such instances.
Operation of A.R.S. § 8-238
¶ 40 In short, A.R.S. § 8-238 requires a juvenile to surrender a DNA sample upon being arrested for a covered offense and summoned to appear at an advisory hearing.7 Covered offenses are enumerated by A.R.S. § 8-238.A; they include all forms of homicide, as well as various sexual offenses, burglary, and other offenses deemed by statute to be “serious” and “dangerous.” An advisory hearing occurs “[ajfter the filing of a petition alleging delinquent or incorrigible acts.” Ariz. R.P. Juv. Ct. (Rule) 28.A. Rule 28 does not require a probable cause finding in support of the charges alleged by the petition. However, Rule 23.D does require a probable cause finding in all cases of a juvenile’s detention.
¶ 41 The statute prescribes that upon failure to comply with DNA testing, “the court shall revoke the juvenile’s release.” A.R.S. § 8-238.B. By providing only one enforcement mechanism, i.e., revocation of release from detention, the statute presupposes that the juvenile being subject to DNA testing is also subject to detention. If there is no release to revoke because the juvenile does not face detention, the statute is ineffective to compel DNA testing and is accordingly inapplicable. This presupposition that the juvenile must face detention before being subject to DNA testing is also evident in the Rules. See Rule 23.H (requiring the court to order DNA testing only “[u]pon petition of an arresting authority or custodial agency ... stating that the juvenile is detained ... and that the juvenile refused to provide a sample” (emphasis added)). Thus, only in cases where a juvenile is subject to detention does A.R.S. § 8-238 operate to compel DNA testing. Consequently, only in eases supported by a judicial determination of probable cause is the statute operable.
¶ 42 Before a juvenile can be detained, he or she is entitled to a judicial probable cause determination. If the juvenile is not being detained but refuses DNA testing, the court shall revoke the juvenile’s release, in turn triggering the juvenile’s right to a probable cause determination. In both cases, if no probable cause exists, the juvenile shall be released from detention as well as any obligation to submit to DNA testing. If probable cause is found, then detention and/or DNA testing are justified. Thus, there is no instance where a juvenile may be compelled to submit to DNA testing without first receiving a judicial determination that there is probable cause to detain the juvenile on the offense charged.
¶ 43 As such, A.R.S. § 8-238 only requires DNA testing for juvenile defendants charged with a covered offense for which there has been a judicial determination that probable cause supports detaining the juvenile. That is, the statute only operates when a juvenile faces charges that have been judicially determined to be supported by probable cause; *220the statute is inapplicable in the absence of a probable cause determination because in such cases the juvenile is not subject to detention.
Applicability of the Fourth Amendment8
¶ 44 The Fourth Amendment guards against searches and seizures that are unreasonable. U.S. Const, amend. IV. The Ninth Circuit has held, “[t]here is no question that the buccal swab constitute [s] a search under the Fourth Amendment.” Friedman v. Boucher, 580 F.3d 847, 852 (9th Cir.2009); see Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 768, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966) (“[Compelled intrusions into the body” must be deemed a search). Thus, absent a warrant, the DNA extraction requirements of AR.S. § 8-238 will pass constitutional scrutiny only if they fall within one of the “few specifically established, ‘jealously and carefully drawn’ exceptions” to the warrant requirement. State v. Fisher, 141 Ariz. 227, 237, 686 P.2d 750, 760 (1984) (quoting Jones v. United States, 357 U.S. 493, 499, 78 S.Ct. 1253, 2 L.Ed.2d 1514 (1958)). Such an exception will be granted only if the search is reasonable. See State v. Axley, 132 Ariz. 383, 390, 646 P.2d 268, 275 (1982) (finding an exception to the warrant requirement upon a reasonableness analysis); see also United States v. Kincade, 379 F.3d 813, 822 (9th Cir.2004) (cataloging the various exceptions previously endorsed by the courts).
¶ 45 Indeed, “[t]he touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is reasonableness.” United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112, 118, 122 S.Ct. 587, 151 L.Ed.2d 497 (2001). A search is evaluated for reasonableness “under [the] general Fourth Amendment approach of ‘examining the totality of the circumstances.’ ” Id. (quoting Ohio v. Ro-binette, 519 U.S. 33, 39, 117 S.Ct. 417, 136 L.Ed.2d 347 (1996)). That is, “the reasonableness of a search is determined ‘by assessing, on the one hand, the degree to which it intrudes upon an individual’s privacy and, on the other, the degree to which it is needed for the promotion of legitimate governmental interests.’ ” Id. at 118-19 (quoting Wyoming v. Houghton, 526 U.S. 295, 300, 119 S.Ct. 1297, 143 L.Ed.2d 408 (1999)).
¶ 46 In this case, the State’s relevant interests are on par with those previously identified by the Ninth Circuit: (1) utilizing the most accurate means of identification available; and (2) effective monitoring and supervising of detainees on conditional release. Kincade, 379 F.3d at 838-39. Accurate identification aids in determining whether the defendant has in the past, and consequently might in the future, further endanger society while on release, as well as ensures that the defendant will be returned to incarceration upon violation of the terms of release. See id.
¶ 47 The permissible uses of DNA information to serve these interests are limited by A.R.S. § 13-610.1. That is, the statute does not authorize use of DNA beyond identification or for purposes relating to the juvenile’s adjudication. Thus, the State has valid interests in DNA identification of juvenile detainees and the statute’s application is properly limited to serve them.9
¶ 48 As a predicate to evaluating the degree of intrusion on the defendant’s privacy, it must first be determined to what extent the defendant has an expectation of privacy in his or her DNA. The Ninth Circuit has stated, and Arizona’s case law suggests, that “conditional releasees are not entitled to the full panoply of rights and protections possessed by the general public.” Kincade, 379 F.3d at 833; see, e.g., State v. Kessler, 199 Ariz. 83, 88, ¶20, 13 P.3d 1200, 1205 (App. 2000) (“[A] probationer is subject to restriction of his constitutional rights to a greater degree than would be permissible outside the criminal-justice system.”). Similarly, juvenile detainees, for which an impartial magistrate has determined there is probable cause for detention, do not have an expectation of *221privacy that is commensurate with that of an ordinary citizen. Because of their status and the resulting interests of the State, such juvenile detainees have a diminished expectation of privacy, particularly concerning their identity.10
¶ 49 In view of this diminished expectation of privacy, my next task is to evaluate the intrusiveness of the DNA extraction, as well as the nature of the information gathered as a result of the extraction. It is well-established that the physical intrusion of DNA testing is minimal. See, e.g., Skinner v. Ry. Labor Executives’ Ass’n, 489 U.S. 602, 625, 109 S.Ct. 1402, 103 L.Ed.2d 639 (1989) (“[T]he intrusion occasioned by a blood test is not significant”). Despite the minimal in-vasiveness of the procedure itself, the nature of the information DNA testing reveals has the potential to be much more intrusive. However, DNA testing pursuant to A.R.S. § 8-238 is explicitly limited to particular uses, primary of which is to ascertain the juvenile’s identity. A.R.S. § 13-610.1.1.
¶ 50 A juvenile whose detention has been judicially scrutinized for probable cause has no right of privacy in his or her identity. See Kincade, 379 F.3d at 837 (“once lawfully arrested and booked into state custody,” one “can claim no right of privacy” in his or her identity). While the information DNA testing yields is more personal than taking fingerprints, given the juvenile’s diminished expectation of privacy and the limitations statutorily imposed on the DNA’s use, such DNA extraction is not so intrusive as to outweigh the State’s countervailing interests in accurate identification and safeguarding the public from juvenile defendants released from detention.
¶ 51 It is my opinion that A.R.S. § 8-238’s prescribed use of a juvenile detainee’s DNA is akin to that of a fingerprint. While DNA contains vastly more information than a fingerprint, see Kincade, 379 F.3d at 818-19, the State is not authorized to, and there is no reason to suspect that it might, access or use this additional information in any way other than for those purposes prescribed. See A.R.S. § 13-610.1. Indeed, it is the additional information contained within DNA that makes it more accurate than the fingerprint where identification is concerned, and identification is the primary purpose for which DNA is to be used.
¶ 52 Moreover, this case does not present specific facts of DNA misuse. For purposes of this case, I would simply note that there are procedural safeguards in place to prevent any misuse from occurring. That is, genetic information obtained illegally, i.e., without legislative authorization or in violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights, would be barred from admissibility in court. Likewise, A.R.S. § 13-610.M provides for expunging the DNA sample in the event charges are dropped, the defendant is acquitted, or a conviction is overturned on appeal.
¶ 53 Law enforcement officers are allowed to use fingerprinting to ascertain a detainee’s identity; similarly, they should be allowed to use DNA testing — a more accurate means of identification — to accomplish the same objective. This should be true regardless of the fact that there is the potential to access more information than merely the detainee’s identity. That the danger of misuse exists does not mean it is significant enough to abrogate the State’s legitimate interest in the most accurate identification possible.
¶ 54 Thus, given its prescribed use, the juvenile’s DNA is, in practicality, a genetic fingerprint and the minimal intrusiveness imposed by the procedure is justified by balancing the State’s interests against the diminished privacy interests of the juvenile. On balance, in my view, the State’s interests outweigh the burden to a juvenile detainee’s diminished expectation of privacy.
¶ 55 The juvenile in this case suggests DNA information might be abused and we should therefore remain suspicious of allowing its possession by the State; however, we need not place our trust in the State to *222refrain from abusing its power, we need only trust the safeguards already in place that protect against the misuse of lawfully obtained DNA. Accordingly, I would uphold as constitutional the DNA extraction prescribed by A.R.S. § 8-238 as a reasonable search and seizure in cases supported by a judicial finding of probable cause.

. Use of the information obtained from the DNA sample as well as its preservation are governed by A.R.S. § 13-610 (2010). Subsection I limits use of the information to identification purposes, juvenile adjudications and proceedings involving violent sex crimes. Subsections J and M provide for expunging a juvenile's DNA profile from the State's DNA identification system if the charges are not timely filed or are dismissed, if there is a trial resulting in acquittal, or if the delinquency adjudication is overturned on appeal.

. I write separately on this topic to emphasize my view that the State’s use of a juvenile’s DNA is limited by the statute to function as no more than a genetic fingerprint and should accordingly withstand constitutional scrutiny.

. I would note that different from this case, in Friedman, the State’s objective was to use the defendant’s DNA and the DNA databank to investigate cold cases. 580 F.3d at 858.

. Though a detained juvenile has an expectation of privacy that is diminished for purposes of a totality of the circumstances analysis, I do not mean to equate the extent of its diminution with that of a juvenile who has been fully adjudicated. My point is that when an impartial magistrate has determined there is probable cause to detain a juvenile, the juvenile's privacy expectation, particularly in his or her identity, becomes less than that of the ordinary citizen.