Vice
Sgt Du Jour, D. Boone asks, "Has anybody questioned the legality
of taking DNA swabs of traffic stops? Seems to be a violation of 4th
amendment rights unless the persons are actually being arrested at the
traffic stops or volunteering (yeah right)."
I'm not a lawyer, but I did bang a goat at a Holiday Inn last
night. I am also an inveterate watcher of television crime
shows, and they are maddening because of the incredible protections
criminals are accorded. Time and again a suspected rapist/killer
must be followed in hopes that he/she will throw away a cigarette, or
drink out of a cup they can snatch for the DNA tests that will prove
what mounds of other evidence have already shown. They do this
because suspects have the right to refuse the testing, but abandoned
DNA, like abandoned garbage, is in the public domain. So, I have
no idea how Florida is getting away with this, but I don't like
it.
Maybar I mizzed sump'n, but the article avoided stating "DNA swabs with or w/o consent." So, speaking of crime shows... I believe it was a story regarding a missing boy on American Justice, that law enforcement set up vehicle search stops that were "voluntary" (w/o warrant) in efforts to find the child. Accordingly, good folks agreed, but to no avail. The boys body was found later that evening.
ReplyDeleteBut even voluntarily, when one objects, it would infer some form of guilt. So, in the end, it's a violation of personal freedom. How much are we to give up for the "common good" and where does it end?