Judgment Day

The San Francisco Chronicle has this story from the Associated Press:

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said Thursday he is changing state policy to expand the use of DNA results, a shift he said could rekindle some cases where other leads have gone cold.

Under current policy, the state notifies law enforcement agencies only when a DNA test shows a complete match with someone who is in the state's criminal database. But investigators have said they want to know when the state finds even a partial match, which could indicate that a relative committed the crime.

Releasing partial matches raises privacy and due process issues that have yet to be tested in the courts, Brown acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press. Doing so has the potential to focus a criminal probe on an individual who did not commit the crime.

But he said there are protections built into the state Department of Justice's new policy. It would be used rarely, only after extensive double-testing and when all other leads have been exhausted

Under the new policy, local law enforcement investigators also would be told when 15 or more of the 26 genetic markers match.

The new California policy meets the standards for the release of partial DNA recommended last month by an FBI advisory group, Chief Assistant Attorney General Dane Gillete said in an interview.

Still, the policy is likely to face a legal challenge.

"This essentially expands the database to all family members who have a relative who may have been arrested sometime in the past," said Michael Risher, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.