State v. Raines, 383 Md. 1

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals held that the Maryland DNA Collection Act was constitutional under the Fourth Amendment and did not violate the federal or Maryland Ex Post Facto Clauses. The court concluded that collecting a buccal DNA sample from an incarcerated convicted felon was a reasonable search despite the absence of individualized suspicion, and it reversed the suppression court's order excluding the DNA evidence.

Holdings

1. The Maryland DNA Collection Act, including its authorization of a buccal swab from an incarcerated convicted person without individualized suspicion, is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
2. The Maryland DNA Collection Act is civil and regulatory rather than punitive and therefore does not violate the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the United States Constitution or the Maryland Declaration of Rights when applied to qualifying convictions predating the Act.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Maryland DNA Collection Act violates the Fourth Amendment by authorizing collection and storage of DNA samples from specified convicted persons without individualized suspicion.
2. Whether applying the Maryland DNA Collection Act to a person convicted before the Act's effective date violates the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the United States Constitution and the Maryland Declaration of Rights.

Disposition

reversed