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DNA Testing Of Discarded Cigarette Is Not Constitutionally Protected

By Walin & Klarich

The Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento ruled in November 2010 that there is no expectation of privacy in a discarded item and that a DNA test of the item is not an unconstitutional search. Rolando N. Gallego was convicted of second degree murder in great part due to the DNA testing of a cigarette that he allegedly threw away on a sidewalk. Police officers collected the cigarette and tested it for DNA. Gallego was a person of interest in the investigation for the murder of his aunt and godmother, Leticia Estores, in 1991. The prosecution matched Gallego?s saliva to a bloody towel that had been collected at the scene of the crime which helped lead to his murder conviction. Gallego?s lawyer challenged his client?s second-degree murder conviction, stating that his client?s constitutional right to a warrantless search was violated by the DNA test...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on February 18, 2011 (boomark / email).