How Blood Sampling and DNA Analysis Work How does the blood sampling system at issue in the Kincade case work?
Once taken, blood samples are analyzed by the FBI, which identifies and records each individual’s “genetic fingerprint.” Such collection, analysis, and reporting are part of a larger regime instituted by federal statute. The statute provides directly for compiling federal offenders’ DNA and, in addition, appropriates $170 million to support similar efforts among the 50 states. After the DNA analysis is complete, resulting records are loaded into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (“CODIS”). CODIS is an enormous, central database linking, among other things, DNA profiles from federal, state, and territorial DNA collection programs. The information gathered and recorded in this case comes from so-called “junk DNA” – stretches of DNA not associated with known physical or medical characteristics. But questions remain about whether such DNA truly provides no medical information. The Kincade Case Thomas Cameron Kincade pleaded guilty to robbing a bank using a firearm. He was sentenced to im
