Fourth Amendment Commons^™

Padgett V. Donald: Why Not So Special, Victoriya Kulik

Mercer Law Review

In Padgett v. Donald, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously held that a state statute, permitting compelled collection of saliva samples from incarcerated felons for DNA profiling, does not violate the federal Constitution's Fourth Amendment, the search and seizure provisions of the state constitution, or the felons' rights to privacy under the federal or state constitutions. The circuits are split whether to apply the special needs analysis or the balancing test to DNA profiling statutes. In this case of first impression for the circuit, the Eleventh Circuit applied the balancing test. This decision is important because it opens …