DNA Collected in One Case but Used in a Different Case

Collection and Use of DNA Evidence:  I’m sometimes asked about when DNA is lawfully collected in one case, are we able to use it later in the investigation and prosecution of a second, unrelated case   My response has always been; “I don’t know.  But let’s go ahead and do it until a court tells us otherwise.”  Well, the issue has finally been resolved in a new case issued by California’s Third District Court of Appeal; People v. Roberts (Aug. 20, 2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 64.  In this case, thirteen-year-old Jessica F.-H. was brutally stabbed to death in a Sacramento County park in 2012.  Although DNA was collected at the scene, her murder went unsolved for about a year.  Then, in 2013, defendant was arrested in an unrelated domestic violence case in what was stipulated to be a lawful arrest (i.e., no search and seizure issues).  Pursuant to Pen. Code § 296(a)(2)(C), defendant’s DNA was automatically collected during the booking process.  As a result, defendant’s DNA profile was uploaded into CODIS (i.e., “Combined DNA Index System”). The district attorney rejected the case for prosecution, however, on the grounds that it was not provable beyond a reasonable doubt.  Defendant’s DNA, ....