Citation Numbers: 91 Op. Att'y Gen. 135
Judges: J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General
Filed Date: 6/20/2006
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Dear Mr. John Tobin,
You have asked for our opinion concerning the authority of the Maryland State Police Forensic Science Division ("Crime Lab") to include certain DNA samples in the statewide DNA data base. State law mandates that DNA samples be collected from certain categories of individuals. One category consists of individuals who have been convicted of certain qualifying offenses in the past and who remained incarcerated after October 1, 1999. With respect to that category, you ask:
(1) May the Crime Lab collect and maintain a DNA sample from an inmate who was imprisoned for both qualifying and non-qualifying offenses without determining whether the portion of the sentence attributable to the qualifying offense has been completely served?
(2) May the Crime Lab collect and maintain a DNA sample from an inmate who has been convicted of a qualifying offense in the past, but who is currently serving a sentence for a non-qualifying offense?
In our opinion, the relevant statute does not require that an inmate be currently serving a sentence for a qualifying offense in order to be eligible for DNA sampling, so long as the inmate has been convicted at some time of a qualifying offense.
DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, a substance that carries genetic information in human beings. Comparisons of DNA evidence with known samples can lead to the identification of individuals involved in crimes or other incidents. The results of such comparisons are therefore admissible in criminal cases and other proceedings under certain conditions. See 89 Opinions of theAttorney General 189 (2004).
State law directs the Crime Lab to maintain a statewide DNA data base and DNA repository. Annotated Code of Maryland, Public Safety Article ("PS"), §
(1) . . . [A]n individual who is convicted of a felony or a violation of §
6-205 or §6-206 of the Criminal Law Article shall:(i) have a DNA sample collected either at the time of sentence or on intake to a correctional facility, if the individual is sentenced to a term of imprisonment; or
(ii) provide a DNA sample as a condition of sentence or probation, if the individual is not sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
(2) An individual who was convicted of a felony or a violation of §
6-205 or §6-206 of the Criminal Law Article on or before October 1, 2003 and who remains confined in a correctional facility on or after October 1, 1999, shall submit a DNA sample to the Department.
PS §
Your two questions relate to DNA sampling of inmates. The answers to both questions turn on whether the statute limits the universe of inmates to be sampled to those serving a sentence for a qualifying offense at the time of sampling.1
The DNA data base law authorizes the DNA sampling of two categories of convicts: (1) those newly convicted of qualifying offenses and (2) inmates previously convicted of those offenses. The statute describes the second category to include an "individual who was convicted of [a qualifying offense] on or before October 1, 2003 and who remains confined in a correctional facility on or after October 1, 1999. . . ." PS §
The meaning of the verb phrase "remains confined" is somewhat ambiguous, but is critical to the answer to your questions. First, it could be interpreted to mean that the inmate is still serving the sentence for the conviction referenced earlier in the same sentence — i.e., the offense that qualifies the inmate for DNA sampling. Under this interpretation, once the sentence for the qualifying offense is completely served, the inmate no longer qualifies for DNA testing, even if the inmate is still incarcerated as a result of other offenses. This interpretation would require a determination of the precise basis of the inmate's current confinement.
Second, the phrase could signify only that the inmate has been continuously incarcerated since the conviction for the qualifying offense, without implying any condition on the basis of the inmate's current confinement. Under this interpretation, one need only determine that the inmate was previously convicted of a qualifying offense and has not been released from custody in the interim.
Finally, the word "remains" may be used simply in the sense of "is present"2 and is not meant to signify that the inmate has been in continuous confinement nor that the current confinement is based on the qualifying conviction. Under this interpretation, the prior conviction for a qualifying offense coupled with current confinement renders the inmate eligible for sampling. There would be no need to parse out what sentence or sentences the inmate is serving at the time of sampling or to investigate whether the individual had been out of State custody since the time of the qualifying conviction.
To select among these alternatives, we look to relevant court decisions and the legislative history of the DNA data base statute.
B. Court Decisions
To our knowledge, no Maryland reported decision directly addresses your questions. However, the circumstances of theRaines case lend some support to a reading of the statute that would make an inmate with a past qualifying conviction eligible for DNA sampling, regardless of the basis or continuity of the inmate's current confinement — the third alternative outlined above. As noted previously, in Raines, the Court of Appeals addressed the constitutionality of the DNA sampling authorized by the DNA data base statute. In setting out the facts of the case, the Court noted that Raines qualified for DNA sampling as a result of his 1982 robbery conviction and that, at the time of sampling in 1999, he was incarcerated for another offense unrelated to the 1982 robbery. Raines,
Courts in two other states have reached differing conclusions on whether a state DNA sampling law applies to an inmate previously convicted of a qualifying offense but currently serving a sentence for a non-qualifying offense. These decisions are of limited utility in construing PS §
In Smith v. Department of Corrections,
In Murphy v. Department of Correction,
While PS §
C. Legislative History
The Maryland DNA data base law was first enacted in 1994. Chapter 458, Laws of Maryland 1994, then codified at Article 88B, § 12A. It was the product of an Administration bill that was intended to create a State DNA data base similar to those established in at least 22 other states, which would allow the State to participate in a nationwide DNA data base network maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.5 Testimony of Kevin Hughes, Governor's Legislative Office, and Col. Larry Tolliver, Superintendent of Maryland State Police before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on House Bill 410 (1994). The purpose of the network was to assist law enforcement agencies throughout the nation in solving crimes involving repeat offenders, as well as to deter those offenders.
Although matching of evidentiary DNA samples was seen as an effective tool for law enforcement, the lack of a data base of DNA profiles for comparison was a stumbling block. "The bill [was] designed to solve this problem by creating a data base composed of samples obtained from persons convicted of sexual offenses." Floor Report for House Bill 410 (1994).
To efficiently populate the data base with DNA samples that would likely serve its law enforcement purposes, the statute necessarily had to define a population for sampling that could be reached in a cost-effective manner. The Administration targeted known sex offenders currently incarcerated or on parole as the initial source of samples for the data base. Testimony of Kevin Hughes, Governor's Legislative Office, and Col. Larry Tolliver,supra. It was estimated that 5,000 incarcerated or paroled sex offenders would be immediately eligible to be sampled under the proposed bill. Id. Other types of offenders were to be added in the future, but the original proposal was limited to sex offenders so as not to "overwhelm the system" as it was launched.Id. Under the bill as originally introduced, provision of a DNA sample by such an individual would be a condition of release from custody or supervision. House Bill 410, first reader (1994).
Thus, the proposed bill limited the initial sampling in two ways. First, it focused on convicted sex offenders — a category of offenders seen as prone to recidivism whose offenses often involved DNA evidence and who might be effectively deterred or detected by the creation of the data base. Second, it limited the population of sex offenders to be sampled to those on parole or in custody. In that way, the bill focused on a subset whose location was presumably already known to criminal justice authorities and over whom the State could exert some leverage in obtaining the required samples.
As noted above, the bill, as originally introduced, would have provided for DNA sampling of all individuals who had been convicted of certain sex offenses and were either in custody or on parole. Concerns apparently were raised about the logistics and expense of finding and obtaining samples from the offenders who were not in the State's physical custody. As a result, the Administration offered an amendment, adopted by the General Assembly, that removed parolees from the list of offenders required to submit to DNA sampling. Administration representatives stated that the amendment was "strictly a cost containment measure," reducing the anticipated cost of the program for the first year from $1.4 million to under $1 million for fiscal year 1995. Letter from Kevin Hughes, Assistant Legislative Officer, Office of the Governor, to the Honorable Joseph Vallario, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee (March 15, 1994). It is evident that, even with this amendment, the intent was to sample as many individuals who had been convicted of the qualifying offenses as possible within fiscal constraints. There is no indication in the legislative record that the General Assembly intended to make fine distinctions as to the basis for a particular offender's current incarceration.6
As ultimately enacted in 1994, the statute required anyone convicted of a "qualifying crime of violence" — at that time defined to include certain sexual offenses — to provide a DNA sample following sentencing. It further provided that an individual who had been convicted of such an offense prior to the effective date of the statute and "who remains incarcerated on that date" would also provide a DNA sample. Former Article 88B, § 12A(d). As predicted when the original bill was presented to the Legislature in 1994, the statute has subsequently been amended to expand the range of qualifying offenses for DNA sampling. See
Chapter 490, Laws of Maryland 1999 (adding murder, robbery, robbery with a deadly weapon, first degree assault, and certain attempted crimes to the list of qualifying offenses); Chapter 240, Laws of Maryland 2003 (revising statute to encompass current categories of qualifying offenses: all felonies and violations of Criminal Law Article §
D. Summary
It thus appears that the Legislature was focused on gathering DNA samples of the greatest interest to law enforcement authorities in the most cost-effective manner. As a result, the sampling program targeted offenders already in custody and those who would come under State supervision in the future. Other than excepting parolees from the sampling program for fiscal reasons, the General Assembly did not explicitly exclude from the program other categories of individuals with qualifying convictions who are in State custody. There are also practical impediments to an interpretation that would tie the inmate's current confinement to the qualifying conviction.
Many inmates are incarcerated for multiple offenses and may be serving concurrent sentences, partially concurrent sentences, consecutive sentences, or a combination of concurrent and consecutive sentences. See Annotated Code of Maryland, Correctional Services Article, §
It is therefore unsurprising that, in Raines, neither the parties nor the Court of Appeals raised any question as to whether the inmate was eligible for sampling, even though his incarceration may have been unrelated to his qualifying conviction. In our view, if the Court of Appeals were squarely presented with the question, it would likely conclude that PS §
J. Joseph Curran, Jr. Attorney General
Sharon B. Benzil Assistant Attorney General
Robert N. McDonald Chief Counsel Opinions and Advice