Court Opinion

ID: 9513649
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:38:41.143891+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:05:57.460133
License: Public Domain

MARING, Justice,
concurring in the result.
[¶ 21] I concur in the result. I am of the opinion that N.D.C.C. § 31-13-03 implicates government intrusion on the fundamental right of personal privacy and bodily integrity, and I would apply strict scrutiny to analyze Leppert’s claim that the statute denies him equal protection. See Vanderlinden v. Kansas, 874 F.Supp. 1210, 1217 (D.Kan.1995), aff'd sub nom. Schlicher v. Peters, 103 F.3d 940, 943 (10th Cir.1996) (addressing only the Fourth Amendment and holding no violation occurred). I, however, am of the opinion the state has established that the statute advances a compelling state interest and, therefore, does not violate equal protection. The type of crimes listed by the statute are those with a high likelihood DNA will be left at the scene. The statute focuses on felons who are most likely to recidivate. The DNA database can be used not only to identify perpetrators of crime, but to exonerate persons who have been convicted and who are accused of crimes where DNA is found at the crime scene. Section 31-13-03, N.D.C.C., directs the Department of Corrections to take a sample of blood or other bodily fluids for “DNA law enforcement identification purposes.” (Emphasis added.) The statute also directs inclusion of the DNA testing results in the “law enforcement identification data bases.” (Emphasis added.) The statute is narrowly drawn and advances the state’s compelling law enforcement interest in identification of perpetrators of crime.
[¶ 22] Finally, I note that Leppert never argued a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights and the majority does not address such a challenge. Compare United States v. Miles, 228 F.Supp.2d 1130, 1141 (E.D.Cal.2002) (holding DNA sampling unconstitutional as a violation of the Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures in light of the United States Supreme Court decisions in City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, 531 U.S. 32, 121 S.Ct. 447, 148 L.Ed.2d 333 (2000) and Ferguson v. City of Charleston, 532 U.S. 67, 121 S.Ct. 1281, 149 L.Ed.2d 205 (2001)), with United States v. Reynard, 220 F.Supp.2d 1142, 1169 (S.D.Cal.2002) (holding, post Edmond and Ferguson, DNA sampling does not violate the Fourth Amendment).
*726[¶ 23] For these reasons, I concur in the result.