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ND: Taking DNA sample by search warrant was not a "critical stage"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A juvenile accused of a forced sex offense did not have a right to have an attorney or his parents present for execution of a search warrant for his DNA because it was not a "critical stage" of the proceedings. State v. Poitra, 2010 ND 137, 2010 N.D. LEXIS 132 (July 13, 2010): [*P25] In general, a criminal defendant does not have a constitutional right to an attorney before submitting DNA during the execution of a search warrant. See, e.g., McClain v. State, 410 N.E.2d 1297, 1303 (Ind. 1980) (no right to counsel during execution of a search warrant for internal body secretions, swab emission test does not involve attempts to get testimony or assertions and is not a critical stage of the proceedings); State v. Delisle, 630 A.2d 767 (N.H. 1993) (a defendant does not have a right to an attorney prior to giving blood samples pursuant to a warrant); Hale v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on July 16, 2010 (boomark / email).