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Two notable state supreme court opinions on the right to privacy

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

Two notable opinion from the Supreme Courts in Kansas and Vermont. Friday the Supreme Court of Kansas in State v. Belt quashed slightly less than a dozen “DNA-based rape warrants” on the grounds the warrants lacked sufficient specificity. Specifically, 1. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and K.S.A. 22-2304 require an arrest warrant to contain the name of the defendant or, if the name is unknown, any name or description by which the defendant can be identified with reasonable certainty. 2. An arrest warrant’s or a supporting affidavit’s inclusion of a unique DNA profile can qualify as a description by which a defendant can be identified with reasonable certainty; mere listing of DNA loci in the warrant or in a supporting affidavit cannot...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on March 31, 2008 (boomark / email).