SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a former constitutional lawyer, today introduced AB 84, which would allow DNA testing to resume in the state. The legislation would bring forensic investigation into the 21st century and create new tools for law enforcement to collect and analyze DNA samples from criminals, while protecting our constitutional rights.
In December, a Court of Appeal struck down California’s criminal-DNA-testing program contained in Proposition 69. In People v. Buza, the court found several aspects of California’s DNA-testing practices unconstitutional, dealing a huge setback to law enforcement’s ability to solve crimes. For CSI-like crime solving to resume in California, policymakers must now come up with a constitutional framework that addresses the court’s concerns.
“The Buza decision could cripple law enforcement, preventing them from using DNA to solve crimes and get violent criminals off the streets,” explained Gatto.
“It’s time to overhaul the system to make sure that best practices are implemented, the constitution is respected, the innocent are exonerated, and the guilty are brought to justice.”
The legislation comes as courts across the country are grappling with the issue of DNA testing, including the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld a Maryland testing program that allows for DNA to be collected from those charged with specific and very serious felonies. However, that decision, Maryland v. King, was no help in the Buza decision, which struck down Prop. 69 under the California Constitution only.
Gatto’s legislation seeks to address the court’s concerns by expressly allowing DNA to be collected from people convicted of a felony or those convicted of a serious or violent misdemeanor. It would allow for DNA to be collected from individuals arrested and charged (but not yet convicted) with serious felonies upon court process and a finding of probable cause. To protect people wrongfully accused, arrested, charged, or convicted, the DNA sample would be required to be completely expunged if the case is dismissed or the accused is acquitted or otherwise exonerated. The legislation also expands upon a pre-existing testing program that allows a person who is arrested for a non-violent minor crime, such as shoplifting, to have their charges dropped in exchange for paying a small fine and agreeing to a DNA swab to check against prior violent crimes, and to keep on hand for the future.
“The people of California have made it clear that while they are sympathetic to persons who spend years in jail for minor crimes, they remain sickened by violent criminals who escape justice and reoffend,” said Gatto. “AB 84 is a balanced approach that will improve our state’s DNA-testing program.”
Mike Gatto is the longest-serving current member of the California State Assembly. He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake. www.asm.ca.gov/gatto
