DNA Court Case Winding Its Way Through the Courts

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I am not an attorney and any comments I post are not intended, nor should they be construed, as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please consult a legal expert who is familiar with the area of legal expertise you need.

In this article – https://gizmodo.com/how-a-legal-brawl-between-two-rich-guys-could-change-ho-1824191082, a court case involving DNA could answer some questions about DNA and privacy as well as clear up some other legal issues when it comes to DNA. There have been a number of DNA cases over the years and the results have often been confusing since one court can rule one way and a different court can rule a different way. Here’s a good point made in the article:

But unlike in past cases, said Jennifer Wagner, a lawyer and the associate director of Bioethics Research at Geisinger, the Perlmutters didn’t argue that it was their DNA itself that was stolen, but the genetic information inside of it. That distinction may have been enough to let the court disregard past cases.

And, said Roberts, they didn’t argue that their financial interests were compromised when that data was stolen, but that their privacy was.

I believe we will see a growing number of DNA related court cases over the next decade or so revolving around a number of issues. There is no easy way to determine how the different cases will be resolved, but some will make it the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) level and I can imagine SCOTUS ruling different ways depending on the issues raised. I haven’t seen any of the DNA legal experts chime in on the subject, but believe at least one will in the near future.