Maryland v. King
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-207 | Md. | Feb 26, 2013 | Jun 3, 2013 | 5-4 | Kennedy | OT 2012 |
Holding: When officers make an arrest supported by probable cause to hold a suspect for a serious offense and bring him to the station to be detained in custody, taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee"s DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Judgment: Reversed, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Kennedy on June 3, 2013. Justice Scalia filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- SCOTUS for law students (sponsored by Bloomberg Law): Dissenting from the bench (Stephen Wermiel, July 2, 2013)
- "Panopticon"? – Keep your eyes on the word! (Ronald Collins, June 5, 2013)
- Opinion recap: Solving "cold cases" made easier (Lyle Denniston, June 3, 2013)
- Argument recap: Does crime-solving trump privacy? (Lyle Denniston, February 26, 2013)
- Argument preview: Crime, technology, and privacy (Lyle Denniston, February 23, 2013)
- Academic highlight: David Kaye on the Fourth Amendment and DNA sampling (Amanda Frost, February 15, 2013)
- SCOTUS for law students (sponsored by Bloomberg Law): The Court takes on DNA screening (Stephen Wermiel, January 10, 2013)
- Court to rule on voting rights law, DNA case (FINAL UPDATE) (Lyle Denniston, November 9, 2012)
- DNA testing may go on (Lyle Denniston, July 30, 2012)
- DNA ruling blocked, for now (UPDATED) (Lyle Denniston, July 20, 2012)
- DNA sampling case develops (Lyle Denniston, May 4, 2012)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 07/13/2012 | Application (12A48) for a stay of the judgment and mandate pending the filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, submitted to The Chief Justice. |
| 07/18/2012 | UPON CONSIDERATION of the application of counsel for the applicant, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment and mandate of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, case No. 68, is hereby stayed pending receipt of a response, due on or before Wednesday, July 25, 2012, by 4 p.m., and further order of the undersigned or of the Court. |
| 07/20/2012 | Response to application from respondent Alonzo Jay King, Jr. filed. |
| 07/23/2012 | Reply of applicant Maryland filed. |
| 07/26/2012 | Letter submitted by respondent |
| 07/30/2012 | Application (12A48) granted by The Chief Justice. (In Chambers Opinion) |
| 08/14/2012 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 17, 2012) |
| 09/04/2012 | Brief amici curiae of Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, Inc., et al. filed. |
| 09/11/2012 | Order extending time to file response to petition to and including October 17, 2012. |
| 09/12/2012 | Brief amicus curiae of Steve Cooley, District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles filed. |
| 09/17/2012 | Brief amicus curiae of DNA Saves filed. |
| 09/17/2012 | Brief amici curiae of Maryland Legislators filed. |
| 09/17/2012 | Brief amicus curiae of National District Attorneys Association filed. |
| 10/12/2012 | Brief of respondent Alonzo Jay King, Jr. in opposition filed. |
| 10/24/2012 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of November 9, 2012. |
| 10/24/2012 | Reply of petitioner Maryland filed. (Distributed) |
| 11/09/2012 | Petition GRANTED. |
| 11/21/2012 | Record Received from the Maryland Court of Appeals. 2 volumes. |
| 11/27/2012 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the respondent. |
| 12/04/2012 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the petitioner. |
| 12/18/2012 | SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Tuesday, February 26, 2013 |
| 12/26/2012 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| 12/26/2012 | Brief of petitioner Maryland filed. |
| 12/28/2012 | Brief amici curiae of Genetics, Genomics and Forensic Science Researchers in support of neither party filed. |
| 12/28/2012 | Brief amicus curiae of National District Attorneys Association filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of the United States filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of National Governors Association, et al. filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Los Angeles County District Attorney on behalf of Los Angeles County filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Global Alliance for Rapid DNA Testing filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amici curiae of DNA Saves, et al. filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amici curiae of Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center, Inc., et al. filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Susana Martinez, Governor of the State of New Mexico filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amici curiae of California, et al. filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault filed. |
| 01/02/2013 | Brief amici curiae of Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 01/09/2013 | Additional record received from the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Part of this record is electronic. |
| 01/10/2013 | CIRCULATED. |
| 01/25/2013 | Brief of respondent Alonzo Jay King, Jr. filed. (Distributed) |
| 01/29/2013 | Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed. |
| 02/01/2013 | brief amicus curiae of Veterans for Common Sense filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Howard University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Electronic Privacy Information Center and twenty-six technical experts and legal scholars filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Public Defenders Service for the District of Columbia filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Federal Defenders filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amici curiae of Genetic Scientists Robert Nussbaum and Sara H. Katsanis filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Council for Responsible Genetics filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amicus curiae of Electronic Frontier Foundation filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/01/2013 | Brief amici curiae of 14 Scholars of Forensic Evidence filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/15/2013 | Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED. |
| 02/19/2013 | Reply of petitioner Maryland filed. (Distributed) |
| 02/26/2013 | Argued. For petitioner: Katherine Winfree, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Baltimore, Md.; and Michael R. Dreeben, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondent: Kannon K. Shanmugam, Washington, D. C. |
| 06/03/2013 | Judgment REVERSED. Kennedy, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Breyer, and Alito, JJ., joined. Scalia, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. |
| 07/05/2013 | MANDATE ISSUED. |
| 07/05/2013 | Record returned to Court of Appeals of Maryland. |
| 07/05/2013 | Record returned to Circuit Court fo Wicomico County. |
Holding: When officers make an arrest supported by probable cause to hold a suspect for a serious offense and bring him to the station to be detained in custody, taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee”s DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Judgment:”Reversed, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Kennedy on June 3, 2013. Justice Scalia filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan joined.