The Golden State Killer and Genetic Privacy

Erin E. Murphy of New York University Law School and Andrea Roth of University of California Berkeley School of Law discuss the Golden State killer case and the future of genetic privacy with host Jeffrey Rosen.

This past April, California police announced they had a suspect for the “Golden State Killer” – 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo. Using genetic data from old crime scene samples, police uploaded his information into a genealogy website, GEDmatch, enabling them to identify DeAngelo’s relatives, and eventually narrow the pool down to find DeAngelo.

This case – along with others that have followed - has raised privacy concerns, leading many to wonder what the future for genetic privacy is under the Fourth Amendment.

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