In Florida, most people know that their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent means that the state cannot normally use a person’s silence in response to police questioning against them in court. However, does this same principle extend to a refusal to provide DNA?
In a recent murder case south of Jacksonville, Florida, the police responded to an apartment where they saw signs that the victim had been attacked. The police were able to collect DNA from the apartment which they believed came from the attacker. They went to question the defendant who was the ex-boyfriend of the victim. The police asked if they could take a DNA sample from the defendant (now done with a simple swab inside a person’s mouth) to compare it to what they found in the apartment. The defendant refused to give a DNA sample.
The defendant was ultimately arrested for murder. The state tried to admit the evidence that the defendant refused to provide a DNA sample. They argued that the defendant’s refusal was evidence of his consciousness of guilt. The trial court let the state admit the evidence. However, the case was reversed on appeal. The appellate court found it was particularly important that the police did not tell the defendant that if he refused to provide a DNA sample, that could be used against him in court, similar to Miranda warnings that are given. The defendant was given the impression that giving the DNA sample was optional, and if he refused, there would be no adverse consequences. Had the police made the proper disclosure to the defendant and he still refused, then the state would likely have been able to admit evidence of his refusal at the trial.