Rel­e­vant Statutes and Case Law

Relevant Case Law/Law Articles

The following citations are meant to serve as a helpful resource and should not be considered as legal advice or counsel. Individuals should use these references as a guide and should conduct their own legal research prior to citing these cases and statutes in official proceedings.

Familial Searching: 

• "THE GENETIC PANOPTICON: GENETIC GENEALOGY SEARCHES AND THE FOURTH AME" by Genevieve Carter (northwestern.edu) 

  • Maryland v. King

  • California v. Greenwood 

  • Boyd v. United States

  • Katz v. United States

  • United States v. Jones

• Relative Doubt: Familial Searches of DNA Databases (umich.edu) 

  • United States v. Weikert 

  • Nicholas v. Goord 

  • United States v. Kincaide 

• The Mismatch Between Probable Cause and Partial Matching (ubalt.edu) 

• Guilt By Genetic Association: The Fourth Amendment and the Search of Private Genetic Databases by Law Enforcement (fordham.edu) 

  • Rakas v. Illinois 

  • United States v. White 

• The Genealogy Detectives: A Constitutional Analysis of ‘Familial Searching’ 

  • Florida v. Jardines 

  • Schmerber v. California 

• Ethics of Familial Genealogy: Solving Crimes at the Cost of Privacy (depaul.edu)

• All in the Family: Privacy and DNA Familial Searching (harvard.edu) 

  • Borian v. Mueller

“No Body” Cases:

• Legal-and-Investigative-stratigies-No-Homicide.pdf (acsr.org) 

  • United States v. Gilbert 

  • United States v. Wilson 

  • Commonwealth v. Elder 

  • People v. Manson 

  • Nettie Brown v. State 

  • Hurley v. State 

• Supreme Court 

  • Opper v. US

  • Smith v. US 

  • Wright v. West 

• Second Circuit 

  • U.S. v. Riggi 

• Third Circuit 

  • Virgin Islands, Government of v. Harris 

• Texas 

  • Fischer v. State

  • Lewis v. State 

  • McDuff v. State

  • Nickerson v. State 

  • Oliver v. State 

  • Williams v. State

Relevant Texas Statutes, Codes, Rules, Regulations

General:

• PENAL CODE CHAPTER 19. CRIMINAL HOMICIDE (texas.gov) 

• CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CHAPTER 49. INQUESTS UPON DEAD BODIES (texas.gov) (useful for questioned death cases) 

• CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CHAPTER 38. EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL ACTIONS (texas.gov) (useful for prosecution of homicides) 

• CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CHAPTER 63. MISSING CHILDREN AND MISSING PERSONS (texas.gov) 

Familial Searching/DNA as an Investigative Tool:

• Texas Ins. Code: Subchapter C, Sec. 546.101—Disclosure of Genetic Information; Confidentiality; Exceptions 

• Texas Ins. Code: Title 5, Subtitle C, Chapter 546—Use of Genetic Testing Information 

• Texas Admin. Code: Title 1, Part 15, Chapter 390, Subchapter A, Rule 390.2—Electronic Disclosure of PHI 

• Texas Admin. Code: Title 28, Part 1, Chapter 3, Subchapter T, Rule 3.3326—Prohibition Against Use of Genetic Information and Requests for Genetic Testing in Medicare Supplement Polices 

• Texas Occupations Code: Title 2, Chapter 58—Use of Genetic Information 

• Texas Labor Code: Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter 21, Subchapter H—Discriminatory Use of Genetic Information

Relevant Federal Laws, Statutes, Rules, Regulations

• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)  

• HITECH Act of 2009 Subtitle D 

• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) Title 45, Part 164