Walker v. State
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court remanded this case for additional fact-finding, holding that this Court declines to reach the merits of the questions for which the Court granted certiorari because additional fact-finding was required as to the origin of a DNA sample collected pursuant to a search warrant.
During an investigation in another homicide case the State collected a DNA sample from Petitioner pursuant to a search warrant and developed a DNA profile of Petitioner. The State later charged Petitioner in connection with the homicide but later nol prossed the charges. A DNA profile developed from evidence collected at the crime scene in the instant case matched Petitioner's DNA profile from previous case, and Petitioner was charged with attempted first-degree murder. Petitioner filed a motion to suppress, arguing that his previously-taken DNA sample should have been expunged under section 2-511 of the Public Safety Article. The circuit court denied the motion, concluding that section 2-511 only applies to "arrestee and convicted-offender DNA samples" and not samples gathered pursuant to a search warrant. The Supreme Court held that remand was required because the record was unclear as to whether the circuit court determined that the DNA sample was recovered pursuant to a search warrant or was a so-called arrestee sample or forensic sample.
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.