25-C-4. DNA Testing
Prisoners can be forced to give DNA samples by state or federal law.141 Forced DNA testing of prisoners generally does not violate the Fourth Amendment.142 It is unclear so far if all prisoners can be forced to give DNA samples, not just prisoners convicted of certain types of crimes143 like sex offenses.144 Some courts have found that laws requiring DNA sampling of all convicted felons do not violate the Fourth Amendment because the state's interest is more important than the bodily intrusion.145See Chapter 11 of the JLM, "Using Post-Conviction DNA Testing to Attack Your Conviction or Sentence," and Chapter 32, "Special Considerations for Sex Offenders," for more information.
141.See, e.g., United States v. Weikert, 504 F.3d 1, 3 (1st Cir. 2007) (holding that requiring a prisoner on supervised release to give a blood sample did not violate the Fourth Amendment); United States v. Kincade, 379 F.3d 813, 832, 839 (9th Cir. 2004) (holding that compulsory DNA profiling of specified federal offenders was reasonable under the totality of...
