A California appeals court Wednesday struck down a state law that requires the collection of DNA from anyone arrested on suspicion of committing a felony.
The 1st District Court of Appeal said Wednesday that the state Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure prohibited the DNA collection using a cheek swab. The law was approved by voters in 2004.
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There was no immediate order stopping police in California from continuing to collect DNA, and the appellate court's ruling could be appealed.* * *
The appeals court in Wednesday's ruling was reviewing an earlier decision it issued on the law in light of a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a similar Maryland law. The earlier ruling also found the California law unconstitutional.
The appeals court said the Supreme Court decision did not apply in this case in part because of significant differences between Maryland's law and California's law. Maryland's law, for example, only allows the DNA of suspects to be tested after they have been charged with a crime. California's law allows testing even before charges are filed. The California law also applies to all felony suspects who are arrested regardless of the seriousness of the alleged crime.
The reason that there is no order stopping police from collecting is that this is an appeal from a criminal conviction and not a civil action for an injunction.

If asked, Kent, would you advise the police to continue collecting in light of the court's holding that the statute is unconstitutional to the extent it permits suspicionless searches and seizures before a determination of PC? Would they risk civil liability if they did so at this point?