Professor Joh Cited in DNA Case from Maryland's Highest Court

Research by Professor Elizabeth Joh is cited in the dissenting opinion of the Court of Appeals regarding the use of DNA evidence surreptitiously collected by police. 

In Raynor v. State, Maryland's highest court in a 4-3 decision rejected a Fourth Amendment claim regarding a DNA sample that had been taken by police after the defendant had refused consent.  The dissenting opinion, signed by three justices, cites Professor Joh's "Reclaiming ‘Abandoned' DNA: The Fourth Amendment and Genetic Privacy," published in Northwestern University Law Review in 2006, to support the contention that that DNA is "immensely personal and private, and deserves the staunchest protection under the Fourth Amendment."

Professor Joh's scholarship focuses on criminal procedure and policing, with a special emphasis on DNA evidence, undercover policing, and new surveillance technologies.

Court of Appeals of Maryland opinion

"Reclaiming ‘Abandoned' DNA: The Fourth Amendment and Genetic Privacy"