State v. O'Hagen

• Decision Date: 24 January 2007
• Citation: 914 A.2d 267,189 N.J. 140
• Parties: STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. John O'HAGEN, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

914 A.2d 267

189 N.J. 140

STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. John O'HAGEN, Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued September 26, 2006.

Decided January 24, 2007.

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Alyssa A. Aiello, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for appellant (Yvonne Smith Segars, Public Defender, attorney).

Janet Flanagan, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent (Anne Milgram, Acting Attorney General of New Jersey, attorney; Ms. Flanagan, Patricia M. Prezioso, Assistant Attorney General and Larry R. Etzweiler, Senior Deputy Attorney General, of counsel and on the brief).

Justice WALLACE, JR., delivered the opinion of the Court.

In this appeal, we must determine the constitutionality of the New Jersey DNA Database and Databank Act of 1994(Act), N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.17-20.28, as amended. We granted certification to determine whether the Act violates rights guaranteed by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Paragraphs 1 and 7 of the New Jersey Constitution. The Act requires all persons convicted of a crime to give a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample. We hold that the Act is constitutional under both Constitutions.

I.

We briefly recite the procedural background. On March 5, 2002, defendant, John O'Hagen, was indicted for third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance. He entered into a plea agreement with the State and pled guilty on October 15, 2002. At sentencing, in addition to the imposition of a three-year period of incarceration, the trial court required defendant to submit a blood sample or other biological sample for DNA testing and storage pursuant to N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.20. Defendant objected to the collection and testing of his DNA, and appealed. He urged that the Act was unconstitutional under both the United States Constitution and the New Jersey Constitution as an unreasonable search and seizure without a warrant, as well as a violation of equal protection.

In a published opinion, the Appellate Division upheld the constitutionality of the Act under both the Federal and State Constitutions. State v. O'Hagen, 380 N.J.Super. 133, 881 A.2d 733 (2005). The panel found that the State demonstrated special needs beyond the need for normal law enforcement. Id. at 147, 881 A.2d 733. The panel recognized that the DNA testing was "not for the purpose of uncovering the commission of a crime, but rather, for the purpose of obtaining identification information that can be used in the event independent evidence demonstrates that a crime has been committed." Id. at 145-46, 881 A.2d 733. The panel also found the special needs of protecting the public, deterrence, accurately prosecuting crimes, and exonerating the innocent were served by the Act. Id. at 146-47, 881 A.2d 733. In balancing the State's interest in obtaining DNA against the defendant's privacy interest, the panel found that any intrusion of privacy was minimal and "outweighed by the State's need to deter and detect recidivist offenders and the public's interest in promptly identifying and accurately prosecuting the actual perpetrators of crimes." Id. at 149, 881 A.2d 733. The panel concluded that the Act was "reasonable under both a special needs analysis and the totality of the circumstances test." Ibid. Finally, the panel rejected defendant's contention that the Act violated principles of equal protection. Id. at 151, 881 A.2d 733.

We granted certification to address the constitutionality of the Act. 185 N.J. 391, 886 A.2d 661 (2005).

II.

Defendant argues that the special needs test is the proper test to determine whether the Act violates his constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. He asserts that the special needs test has not been met because the Act's primary purpose is ordinary law enforcement. Defendant also disputes that DNA is like a fingerprint, contesting that the primary purpose of DNA evidence is to accurately establish the identity of an individual in custody. Further, he urges that even if the courts find a special need, that need does not outweigh his privacy interests. Finally, defendant argues that the Act violates federal and state equal protection.

In contrast, the State contends that the Act is constitutional under either a totality of the circumstances test or a special needs test. However, the State urges that courts should apply the totality of circumstances test and that valid law enforcement purposes clearly outweigh the minimal intrusion of a cotton swab used to retrieve a DNA sample. Additionally, the State argues that the Act is constitutional even under a special needs analysis because each of the purposes of the Act as delineated in N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.21 satisfies a special need beyond normal law enforcement concerns. The State declares that deterring recidivism is a special law enforcement problem equally as important as the independent purpose of crime detection. In response to defendant's equal protection challenge, the State argues that a rational basis exists for requiring DNA tests from all individuals convicted of a crime.

III.

Before we address the issue of the applicable test, we digress to discuss the key portions of the Act. Although their tests differ, DNA statutes have been adopted in each of the fifty states and by Congress. The New Jersey Act requires that "[e]very person convicted or found not guilty by reason of insanity of a crime shall have a blood sample drawn or other biological sample" submitted for the purpose of DNA testing. N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.20g (Supp.2006). Initially only persons convicted of certain sex offenses were required to provide a blood sample for DNA profiling. L. 1994, c. 136. However, in 1997, the Act was expanded to include blood samples from juveniles adjudicated delinquent for acts which, if committed by an adult, would constitute a delineated sex offense, as well as from defendants and juveniles found not guilty by reason of insanity of one of those same offenses. L. 1997, c. 341. The Act was amended again in 2000 to expand the list of covered crimes and to provide that biological samples other than blood could be utilized for DNA sampling. L. 2000, c. 118. In 2003, the Act was further amended, effective September 22, 2003, to require DNA samples of all adult and juvenile offenders convicted of a crime or found not guilty by reason of insanity of any crime. L. 2003, c. 183.

In adopting the Act, the Legislature declared that "DNA databanks are an important tool in criminal investigations and in deterring and detecting recidivist acts." N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.18. The DNA test results are to be used for the following purposes:

a. For law enforcement identification purposes;

b. For development of a population database;

c. To support identification research and protocol development of forensic DNA analysis methods;

d. To assist in the recovery or identification of human remains from mass disasters or for other humanitarian purposes;

e. For research, administrative and quality control purposes f. For judicial proceedings, by order of the court, if otherwise admissible pursuant to applicable statutes or rules;

g. For criminal defense purposes, on behalf of a defendant, who shall have access to relevant samples and analyses performed in connection with the case in which the defendant is charged; and

h. For such other purposes as may be required under federal law as a condition for obtaining federal funding.

[N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.21.]

The Act declares that DNA samples and the test results are to be kept confidential. N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.27. Further, the disclosure of "individually identifiable DNA information" in "any manner to any person or agency not entitled to receive it" is a disorderly persons offense. N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.26.

In addition to establishing a state DNA database, the Act requires the DNA information to be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for inclusion in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the FBI's national DNA identification index system cataloguing DNA records submitted by state and local forensic laboratories from across the country and accessible to law enforcement nationwide. N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.19, 20.21. In 1990, the FBI established CODIS to store DNA information obtained from federal, state, and local agencies. Consequently, the federal DNA Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C.A. § 14132, formalized the FBI's authority to maintain a DNA database for law enforcement purposes. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, The FBI's Combined DNA Index System Program: CODIS (Apr. 2000), available at http:www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/codis/brochure.pdf.

IV.

A.

It is not disputed that a blood test or cheek swab for the purposes of obtaining a DNA sample is a "search." Skinner v. Ry. Labor Executives' Ass'n, 489 U.S. 602, 616-17, 109 S.Ct. 1402, 1412-13, 103 L.Ed.2d 639, 659-60 (1989) (noting that blood tests, breathalyzer tests, and taking of urine constitute searches). The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution protect citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. That protection is not against all searches and seizures, but only those that are unreasonable. Id. at 619, 109 S.Ct. at 1414, 103 L.Ed.2d at 661. Whether a search is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment "`depends on [sic] all of the circumstances surrounding the search or seizure and the nature of the search or seizure itself.'" Ibid. (citing United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. 531, 537, 105 S.Ct. 3304, 3308, 87 L.Ed.2d 381, 388 (1985)). In making that determination, the Court balances the "intrusion on the individual's Fourth Amendment interests against [the] promotion of legitimate governmental interests." Ibid. Generally, "we strike this balance in favor of the procedures described by the Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment." Ibid. In short, there is...