New Jersey public defenders and a local news outlet are suing the state’s health department and a laboratory after police used a baby’s blood sample to pursue a decades-old criminal case, something the plaintiffs say “sidestepped” the defendant’s rights.
“By serving a subpoena on the Newborn Screening Laboratory, the State Police sidestepped its constitutional obligation to develop probable cause and obtain a warrant,” the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender and New Jersey Monitor allege in court documents filed in July and reviewed by Insider.
The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender and the New Jersey Monitor are seeking records to determine how often state agencies use the state’s Newborn Screening Laboratory to aid in its investigations.
