Global Ganja Report

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Feb. 23 that mouth swabs may be used to extract DNA samples from any adult arrested on felony charges in California. The 2-1 decision upholds a 2004 voter-enacted provision, Proposition 69, that amends the DNA and Forensic Identification Database and Data Bank Act of 1998, requiring law enforcement officers to collect such samples from all felony arrestees. This mandate was challenged by the plaintiffs as a violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Justice Milan Smith, Jr.  affirmed the lower court's denial of plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. (Jurist, Feb. 24)

Graphic by Jurist