Current:Home > reviewsNew York can resume family DNA searches for crime suspects, court rules -ProfitLogic
New York can resume family DNA searches for crime suspects, court rules
View
Date:2025-04-15 03:06:29
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ruled police can resume a DNA searching method that can identify relatives of potential suspects, a technique that has helped solve crimes but caused privacy concerns.
The method, known as familial DNA searches, allows law enforcement agencies to search information in their DNA databases to find blood relatives of people who have left genetic material at a crime scene.
The order from the New York Court of Appeals allows the state to use such searches in criminal cases, reversing a lower court ruling from last year that blocked the practice.
The case was brought by two men whose brothers were convicted of crimes and had genetic information in the state’s databanks. They alleged that searches could improperly target them because of their family members’ crimes and that the technique was never approved by the state Legislature.
Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson, writing for the majority, said that the state’s rulemaking process for the searches was legal and that regulations intended to protect privacy have resulted in very few search results provided to law enforcement.
Janine Kava, spokesperson for the state’s criminal justice services division, said the agency was pleased that the state can resume using the technique.
“The state’s familial search regulations provide law enforcement with another tool to solve violent crimes that have gone cold, eliminate individuals from suspicion, exonerate the wrongfully convicted and help provide closure when unidentified human remains are discovered,” she said in a statement.
The ruling applies only to the state’s DNA databank, not to databanks that are maintained by private companies for genealogy research.
Familial DNA famously led to an arrest in Los Angeles’ Grim Sleeper serial killings, which spanned from 1985 to 2007. Lonnie Franklin Jr. was convicted and sentenced to death this year.
veryGood! (33)
Related
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 16 players to start or sit in Week 2
- Focusing only on your 401(k) or IRA? Why that may not be the best retirement move.
- Elon Musk Offers to Give “Childless Cat Lady” Taylor Swift One of His 12 Kids
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- NFL power rankings Week 2: Settled Cowboys soar while battered Packers don't feel the (Jordan) Love
- When does 'Survivor' Season 47 start? Premiere date, cast, where to watch and stream
- Wife of California inmate wins $5.6 million after 'sexual violation' during strip search
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- When does NHL season start? Key dates for 2024-25
Ranking
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Where does Notre Dame go from here? What about Colorado? College Football Fix discusses and previews Week 3
- Former Vikings star Adrian Peterson ordered to turn over assets to pay massive debt
- Donald Trump Speaks Out on Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- South Carolina, UConn celebrate NCAA championships at White House with President Biden
- You Have 1 Day to Get 50% Off Tan-Luxe Drops, Too Faced Lip Liner, Kiehl's Moisturizer & $8 Sephora Deals
- A day that shocked the world: Photos capture stunned planet after 9/11 terror attacks
Recommendation
NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
The Trump campaign falsely accuses immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating pets
Dax Shepard Sets the Record Straight on Rumor He and Wife Kristen Bell Are Swingers
TikToker Caleb Graves, 35, Shared Haunting Video Before Dying at Disney Half-Marathon
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Focusing only on your 401(k) or IRA? Why that may not be the best retirement move.
Jon Stewart presses for a breakthrough to get the first 9/11 troops full care
Madonna shocks at star-studded Luar NYFW show with Offset modeling, Ice Spice in front row