US cops used newborn's stored DNA to nab father in a 1996 crime

In a worrisome trend, a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender (OPD) has claimed that the police used blood samples from new-born babies to fund DNA samples and probe crimes committed more than 25 years ago.

The OPD officials learned that the State Police has successfully subpoenaed a newborn blood sample who is now approximately nine years old.

"The reason the State Police subpoenaed the sample was so that it could perform a DNA analysis on the sample and tie the child's father, who became OPD's client, to a crime that was committed in 1996," the lawsuit read.

By serving a subpoena upon the Newborn Screening Laboratory, the State Police allegedly sidestepped its constitutional obligation to develop probable cause and obtain a warrant "so that it could obtain a buccal swab from OPD's client to perform an analysis of his DNA".

The suspect then became a client of the OPD, which alerted the office to the techniques used to identify the man.

Every baby born in New Jersey is required by law to be tested for 60 disorders within 48 hours of birth.

Through a simple needle prick to the heel, hospitals, medical facilities, and health care providers collect blood from newborns.