Required DNA Sample Does Not Violate Free Exercise Clause

A New York federal district court has rejected a free exercise challenge to the federal DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act. Kurt Kavoukian, on probation after serving a sentence for firearms violations, argued that requiring him to provide a DNA sample is an intrusion into his body prohibited by his religion. In United States v. Kavoukian, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50014 (ND NY, July 20, 2006), the court found that the statute, designed to establish a federal DNA database to assist in the identification, arrest, and prosecution of criminals, is a permissible neutral law of general application.