Orange County, which already has one of the nation's most aggressive programs for taking DNA samples from convicts, has quietly begun offering a deal to some people who have only been arrested: give a DNA sample and have your charges dropped.
The district attorney's office, which runs its own database, has started expanding its program by handling some cases "informally," Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas told the Board of Supervisors this week. In those cases, if a person who has been arrested agrees to give a DNA sample, "we would not even file" charges.
"There'd be no necessity for a guilty plea, and a dismissal, or anything like that," he said. "It's advantageous to the defense, and it's advantageous to us, because we're able to handle more cases with fewer resources."
The DNA sample could act as a deterrent for potential criminals and be a useful investigative tool for law enforcement, Rackauckas told supervisors. But the deal to drop charges in exchange for DNA samples, which appears to be unique in the country, has drawn objections both from civil libertarians and from some in law enforcement.
The plan became public when Rackauckas sought approval from supervisors to add a mandatory $75 fee to the deal. Supervisors approved the fee, allowing Rackauckas' department to process more DNA profiles at a time of state budget cuts. The plan applies to people arrested for nonviolent misdemeanors, including petty theft, trespassing and low-level drug-possession felonies.
Representatives of some Orange County police agencies objected to the idea of the district attorney releasing suspects whom their officers have arrested and booked.
"All law enforcement will be demoralized, especially on narcotics cases," said Wayne Quint, president of the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs.
"I don't believe any plea deals for DNA should ever occur, period," he said. "There's absolutely no scientific empirical evidence to show that it's a deterrent."
Civil liberties advocates and defense attorneys say the plan would allow prosecutors to wrongly pressure people who have not been convicted of any crime to give the government a DNA sample.
Federico Sayre, an attorney based in Santa Ana who represented Rodney King in his case against Los Angeles, said most attorneys would be obliged to advise clients to provide a sample and pay the fee if they can afford it -- even if the client asserts his or her innocence -- to avoid a possibly prolonged, and more punitive, legal experience.
