California v. Harris
Annotate this CaseIn 2013, Taleia Harris pled guilty to felony grand theft from a person for stealing a wallet from the victim's person. A year later, California voters enacted Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (Proposition 47). Harris successfully petitioned to have her felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor under Proposition 47, but the court denied her motion to expunge the DNA sample that law enforcement took by mouth swab when she was booked on her felony charge. Harris appealed that order, contending that when a felony is reduced to a misdemeanor under Proposition 47, the state is not permitted to retain an adult misdemeanant's previously collected DNA sample and genetic profile, and that the state's retention of her DNA sample and genetic profile violated her state and federal constitutional right to equal protection of the laws and right of privacy. Finding no reversible error, the Court of Appeal affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.