4th & 5th Amendment Constitutional Privacy & Police Genetic Information-Mining

The purpose of this project is to analyze the boundaries of 4th Amendment search and 5th Amendment self-incrimination jurisprudence in light of the developing ability of the police to mine a human's cells for increasingly private, personal and powerful genetic information. Forensic technology already provides a hazy genetic photograph of a suspect - a genetic nametag, bio-geographical continent of origin, skin pigmentation and eye color. Ongoing behavioral and disease genetics research and the allure of the $1,000 genome is speeding us towards an even larger forensic treasure-trove of individuating genetic characteristics. The project will explore discarded, latent and new themes in 4th and 5th Amendment privacy jurisprudence in an effort to answer three questions: (1) Do we want to continue to allow the police to mine for any genetic information the cells of anyone who has abandoned those cells in a public place? (2) Do we want to continue to allow the police to compel anyone to offer up those information-laden cells without regard to the person's right against self-incrimination? (3) If we do not, how can and should we change the 4th Amendment search and 5th Amendment self-incrimination privacy paradigms to account for our changing conceptions of identity and self? The project will answer these questions through an extensive and creative review of traditional 4th and 5th Amendment jurisprudence and an attention to developing forensic, behavioral and disease genetics trends. The project will result in at least two articles in legal journals and presentations to professional, judicial and academic groups. This project aspires to think now in a disciplined and creative way about how well current 4th and 5th Amendment constitutional doctrine will be suited in the future to address circumstances in the world of police investigation that we are only beginning to imagine.