Michael Virtanen reports:
Local prosecutors in New York are being urged to collect DNA samples as part of plea bargains in all misdemeanor cases after a bill that would have required the record keeping got stuck in the Legislature.
The state has data on genetic material from about 365,000 criminals convicted of felonies or at least one of 35 misdemeanors, as required by law, plus 32,405 samples taken from crime scenes.
Read more on SIlive.com
Not surprisingly, at least one proponent makes the “If you have nothing to hide…” argument:
“Making this a condition of a plea is not onerous on any defendant. It’s a one-time submission,” said Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan. “If a defendant does object to it, it does raise a red flag as to what may be lingering in their past.”
The NYCLU has been opposing the suggested expansion of the DNA database and is quoted in the story but has not yet issued any press release on their site or indicated whether they would take any additional measures to oppose this newest proposal.