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Police Use of Rapid DNA Machines Unregulated
by Jayson Hawkins
For every step that technological advances make on the march of progress, so too are pathways opened to abuse. The current rush among law enforcement agencies to acquire “Rapid DNA” machines has thus raised red flags.
These devices enable the user to “generate an …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- National Fingerprint Database Frees Man After 36 Years, by Jayson Hawkins
- Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana Pointing a Firearm and Intimidation Convictions No Longer Qualify Under ACCA After Johnson, by Pat O'Connell
- Asset Forfeiture Not So Helpful to Crime-Fighting, by Edward Lyon
- New York Court of Appeals Overturns Murder Conviction, Finds Prosecutor Withheld Critical Video Evidence in Violation of Brady Obligations, by Dale Chappell
- Tennessee Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Because Trial Court Refused to Give ‘Necessity’ Jury Instruction Because Defendant Never Testified About Mental State, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Safety-Valve Relief, by Douglas Ankney
- Georgia Supreme Court Announces Fundamental Overhaul of Jurisprudence Governing Appeals of Guilty Pleas and Out-of-Time Appeals, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: Equal Protection Requires Pretrial Detainees on Home Confinement Be Eligible for Good Conduct Credits, by Douglas Ankney
- U.S. Supreme Court ‘Death Caucus’ Setting Death Penalty Litigation Tone, by Kevin Bliss
- Georgia Supreme Court: Warrantless Search of Vehicle’s Airbag Control Module is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Sentencing Judge Should Have Recused Himself Due to Ex Parte Communications with U.S. Attorney’s Office, by Douglas Ankney
- Santa Didn’t Create Naughty Cops List, But It’s Worth Checking Twice, by Douglas Ankney
- Nevada Supreme Court: Trial Court Must Give Manslaughter Instruction Even When Evidence Is Circumstantial, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Sex Trafficking and Kidnapping Are not Violent Felonies for 924(c) After Davis, by Dale Chappell
- Supreme Court of Hawai’i Rules Presenting Falsified Polygraph Results Is Coercive Per Se, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Holds Career Offender Status Does not Bar Retroactive FSA Relief Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
- Using Algorithms to Erase Pot Convictions in California, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Clarifications and Modifications to Proportionality Review Standard as Applied to Habitual-Offender Sentences, by Douglas Ankney
- Costly Electronic Monitoring Programs Replacing Ineffective Jail Bond Systems, by Kevin Bliss
- NJ Supreme Court: Confession not Voluntary Where Police Tell Suspect Truth Would Set Him Free, Promise Him Counseling Instead of Jail, and Minimize Seriousness of Offenses, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit: Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery not a Crime of Violence Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief in Loss of GBMI Plea in Pennsylvania Court Due to IAC, Announces New Rule, by Dale Chappell
- Washington Supreme Court: Failure to Pay Fines Don’t Increase Sentencing Score, by Anthony Accurso
- Harmless Error: Explained, by Gabe Newland
- On Remand from Supreme Court, Eleventh Circuit Holds in Specific Circumstances an Ake Violation Constitutes Structural Error, by Douglas Ankney
- Refusing to Permit Attorney to Make Offer of Proof Is Abuse of Discretion, Says Indiana Supreme Court, by Douglas Ankney
- Police Use of Rapid DNA Machines Unregulated, by Jayson Hawkins
- Tenth Circuit Holds Davis Retroactive, Retaliation Against a Witness Not Crime of Violence Under § 924(c), by Dale Chappell
- Perils of Risk Assessment Tools in Criminal Justice, by Jayson Hawkins
- If It Saves More Than One Child, by Sandy Rozek
- U.S. District Court Holds Hobbs Act Robbery not Crime of Violence for § 924(c), Grants § 2255 Motion, by Dale Chappell
- From the Editors
- Fourth Circuit: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Death Penalty Case for Failure to Investigate Fetal Alcohol Syndrome as Mitigating Factor During Sentencing Phase, by Chad Marks
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces New Rule Requiring Both Judges and Juries to Consider Numerous Factors in Witness ID Cases, by Dale Chappell
- Insurance Companies Are Paying Cops To Investigate Their Own Customers, by Kendall Taggart
More from Jayson Hawkins:
- Bad Lawyering, Bankruptcy Torpedo Suit Over Delaware Prisoner’s Death, July 15, 2023
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, June 15, 2023
- Financial Pressure Finally Brings Police Reform, June 15, 2023
- “Slap On the Wrist” for California Bail Agents Who Hired Bounty Hunter Who Killed Their Client, May 1, 2023
- MTV Documentary Shines Light on Art Behind Bars, May 1, 2023
- Arizona Prisoner Condemned Again for Cellmate’s Murder, May 1, 2023
- U.S. Response to Haitian Crisis: Fund More Prisons, April 1, 2023
- Former State Prison Guards in Georgia Sentenced for Prisoner Assaults and Cover-Up, April 1, 2023
- After Years of Hard Work and Dedication, Adnan Syed Is Freed by Serendipity, March 15, 2023
- Time to Find the Key, March 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Abuse of Discretion Standard, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- FBI Approves Rapid DNA Workflow for CODIS, Aug. 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Databases, Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Florida Supreme Court Announces “Results” of Postconviction DNA Testing Under § 925.11 Include Underlying Testing Data Necessary for Expert Analysis, Holding That No Additional Burden Applies Once a Motion for Testing Has Been Granted, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Disclosure of Records, Public Records, Forensic Sciences, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, DNA Evidence, Evidence - Admissibility, Claim of Innocence.
- Swabbed at Booking, Searched for Life: How Pre-Conviction DNA Collection Built a Genetic Mass Surveillance System, April 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Databases, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- The Unintentional Informant: Household Pets as Vectors of Human DNA, March 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Forensic Sciences, DNA Evidence, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Zombie Forensics: Discredited Science Stalking the Courtroom, Dec. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Forensic Sciences, Opinions and Expert Testimony.
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Buccal Swab Pursuant to Discovery Order Violates Fourth Amendment, Overrules Inevitable Discovery Precedent, and Clarifies Accomplice-Corroboration Statute Applies Only to Sworn Testimony, Dec. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Warrantless Searches, Good Faith Exception, Hearsay Evidence/Exceptions, Exclusionary Rule.
- DHS Has Been Quietly Collecting DNA From U.S. Citizens for Years, Funneling It Into FBI’s CODIS Without Oversight, Oct. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Police State-Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Police/Govt Misconduct, Suspicionless Searches.
- Probabilistic Genotyping on Trial: Can We Trust the Secret Algorithms Deciding Guilt?, Aug. 1, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Crime Labs, Blood Samples/Tests, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.





