Center for Genetics and Society, et al. vs. Rob Bonta, et al.

In a long-standing lawsuit, the ACLU, on behalf of partner organizations and an individual taxpayer, is challenging the state of California for its retention of genetic samples and profiles from people arrested but never convicted of a felony.  

The complaint argues that retention of DNA from people never convicted of a felony violates the California Constitution’s privacy protections, which are intended to block government stockpiling of personal data.  

This lawsuit demands that the state automatically expunge the DNA of people never convicted of a felony, whether because they were never prosecuted, or because they were acquitted or won conviction relief on appeal or in post-conviction proceedings. The state claims it should not be required to automatically expunge DNA for two reasons. First, because a bigger DNA database is allegedly better for crime-solving, and second, because the state is neither staffed nor funded to expunge DNA in large numbers.   

The superior court rejected these defenses by order issued February 10, 2025. The court rightly found that cost-savings are no justification for violating the Constitution, and it noted that the government’s crime-stopping rationale would a supporting a policy of collecting DNA from every single person in California—a clear constitutional overreach. Accordingly, the Superior Court gave the state 90 days to submit a plan for automatically destroying the DNA of the hundreds of thousands of people who are legally eligible. 

The California Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal on March 19, 2025. 

Learn more: 

Court Requires California to Clear Its Massive DNA Database of People Never Convicted of a Crime   | ACLU of Northern CA