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Brown v. Commonwealth

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
Nov 17, 2005
445 Mass. 1016 (Mass. 2005)

Opinion

November 17, 2005.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Supreme Judicial Court, Appeal from order of single justice.

Roger Witkin for the plaintiff.


Terrance Brown appeals from a judgment entered by a single justice of this court denying his petition for relief pursuant to G.L. c. 211, § 3. We affirm.

Brown is a codefendant with Nathan Rivera in a pending homicide case. At Rivera's request, a judge in the Superior Court ordered that Brown submit to a buccal swab for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis. Brown unsuccessfully challenged that order in the county court. The case is now before us pursuant to S.J.C. Rule 2:21, as amended, 434 Mass. 1301 (2001). Brown claims that he cannot obtain adequate review on appeal because by then the seizure — the swabbing of his cheek — will already have occurred. We rejected the same argument in White v. Commonwealth, 439 Mass. 1017 (2003). See Matter of a Grand Jury Investigation, 435 Mass. 1002, 1003 (2001) (rejecting same argument concerning blood sample). See also Glawson v. Commonwealth, 436 Mass. 1007 (2002) (blood and hair samples); Cummins v. Commonwealth, 433 Mass. 1005, 1006 (2001) (blood sample). Accordingly, Brown has failed to meet his burden under rule 2:21.

See Jansen, petitioner, 444 Mass. 112, 113 n. 2 (2005) (buccal swab involves rubbing swab on inside of cheek).

Judgment affirmed.

The case was submitted on the papers filed, accompanied by a memorandum of law.


Summaries of

Brown v. Commonwealth

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
Nov 17, 2005
445 Mass. 1016 (Mass. 2005)
Case details for

Brown v. Commonwealth

Case Details

Full title:TERRANCE BROWN v. COMMONWEALTH

Court:Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

Date published: Nov 17, 2005

Citations

445 Mass. 1016 (Mass. 2005)
837 N.E.2d 250

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