[I]t took 18 months of litigation to get the state to test the DNA against its database of felons, and Mr. Buffey’s lawyers say his case is therefore something more: proof that laws are needed to remove the databases from the exclusive grip of prosecutors and law enforcement to make them available to defense lawyers.
“There is incredible exculpatory power in the databases that the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on over the years,” said Nina Morrison, a senior lawyer in the case. “But law enforcement runs the databases, and even when you go to court to force their hand, they throw up roadblocks. And judges say they don’t have the power to force them.”
The Government can't claim ownership of science. Yet only 9 states have laws granting defendants access to the databases: Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.
New infographic from the ACLU on Guantanamo:
ACLU's message to Obama: Yes you can be the civil liberties President.
This is an open thread, all topics welcome.