FDC Legal & Ethical Issues in DNA 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Fourth Amendment, when is a warrantless collection of a DNA sample from a suspect generally permissible?
- During a lawful arrest for a serious offense under statutes like Maryland v. King (Correct answer)
- Anytime police have reasonable suspicion of a crime
- Only after a grand jury indictment
- Whenever a suspect voluntarily enters a police station
Correct answer: During a lawful arrest for a serious offense under statutes like Maryland v. King
The Supreme Court in Maryland v. King (2013) held that DNA cheek swabs of arrestees for serious offenses are reasonable searches under the Fourth Amendment.
Question 2: What ethical principle requires that DNA donors fully understand the risks and scope of how their genetic information will be used before consenting?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Informed consent (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence
Correct answer: Informed consent
Informed consent requires that individuals receive complete and comprehensible information about research or testing purposes, risks, and data use before agreeing to participate.
Question 3: Which federal law specifically governs the privacy of individually identifiable health information, including genetic test results held by covered healthcare entities?
- CODIS Authorization Act
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Correct answer)
- DNA Identification Act of 1994
Correct answer: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
HIPAA's Privacy Rule protects individually identifiable health information, including genetic test results, held by covered entities such as healthcare providers and insurers.
Question 4: A forensic analyst discovers that a DNA profile from a crime scene matches an innocent relative of the actual perpetrator through familial searching. What is the primary ethical concern?
- Chain of custody documentation
- Privacy intrusion into individuals who are not suspects (Correct answer)
- Violation of CODIS upload criteria
- Lack of statistical confidence in the match
Correct answer: Privacy intrusion into individuals who are not suspects
Familial DNA searching implicates the privacy of biological relatives who have committed no crime and may not consent to being identified as investigative leads.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes the legal concept of 'abandonment' as it applies to DNA evidence collection?
- DNA obtained from a suspect's attorney is legally abandoned
- DNA left on discarded items in public spaces may be collected without a warrant (Correct answer)
- Biological samples stored in a lab for over five years are legally abandoned
- A suspect's DNA is abandoned once charges are dropped
Correct answer: DNA left on discarded items in public spaces may be collected without a warrant
Courts have held that DNA on discarded items (e.g., a cup or cigarette butt left in a public place) is abandoned property and may be collected by law enforcement without a warrant.
Question 6: GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) primarily protects individuals from discrimination based on genetic information in which two domains?
- Criminal justice and immigration
- Health insurance and employment (Correct answer)
- Life insurance and housing
- Education and federal contracting
Correct answer: Health insurance and employment
GINA prohibits discrimination based on genetic information in health insurance coverage and employment decisions, though it does not cover life, disability, or long-term care insurance.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of expungement statutes related to DNA databases?
- To allow laboratories to purge old analytical records to free storage space
- To remove DNA profiles of individuals who were acquitted or had charges dismissed (Correct answer)
- To delete profiles that failed quality thresholds during upload
- To eliminate duplicate profiles caused by database migration errors
Correct answer: To remove DNA profiles of individuals who were acquitted or had charges dismissed
Expungement statutes provide a legal mechanism for individuals exonerated or whose charges were dismissed to have their DNA profiles removed from forensic databases such as CODIS.
FDC Legal & Ethical Issues in DNA 2
Under the Fourth Amendment, when is a warrantless collection of a DNA sample from a suspect generally permissible?