Page 190 - Privacy in a Cyber Age Policy and Practice

178 PRIVACY IN A CYBER AGE

already spelled out, DNA usages’ contributions to the common good are
considerable.
One may first conclude, based on the preceding discussion, that given
that forensic DNA usages’ contributions to the common good are substan-
tial and their intrusions on individual rights small, these usages compare
very favorably to many other public policies that have the opposite profile,
for instance, the practice of trading medical records (legal in the United
States until 2000). 131 Actually, DNA usages have an unusual profile: They
are the source of major gains to both core elements of the liberal communitar-
ian balance. They do not merely enhance significantly the common good,
but they also enhance the right to be cleared of suspicion and above all
exonerate hundreds of innocent individuals.
Many public policies, which tilt heavily in one direction or the other,
throw off some limited benefits to the other core element of the liberal
communitarian balance, other than the one they favor. Thus, for instance,
free speech, a core individual right, also somewhat improves governance
by helping those in power to discover when their policies are misdirected
earlier than when speech is suppressed. And enhanced public safety also
helps protect individual rights, such as the freedom of assembly. However,
forensic DNA usages are very distinct in that that provide very major con-
tributions to both elements of the liberal communitarian balance.
DNA usages should therefore be expanded rather than curbed, first
of all, by clearing the existing backlog and second by making them more
available to those who seek to appeal their convictions.