[ OUR OPINION ]
DNA samples needed
as tool to fight crimeA reckless decision by a three-judge federal appeals panel has put state and federal genetic profiling at risk, potentially stripping authorities of a valuable tool in identifying criminals and exonerating the innocent. The ruling that DNA samples violate criminals' Fourth Amendment protection against illegal searches conflicts with previous decisions and should be overturned by a larger panel of judges in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court should reinstate its recognition of the need for testing past offenders of sexual and violent crimes.
THE ISSUE
A federal appeals court has declared a law requiring federal offenders to give blood samples for an FBI database to be unconstitutional.
In a 2-1 decision, the panel struck down a 3-year-old law that requires federal inmates and parolees to give blood samples for the FBI's DNA database. The law is similar to a Hawaii law enacted in 1998 that required people who had been convicted of sexual or violent offenses to submit to DNA analysis of blood within 30 days of the law taking effect, of their convictions or of their arrival in the state in the expectation of staying in the islands for more than a month.
In the case before the San Francisco-based appeals court, whose jurisdiction includes Hawaii, a convicted Los Angeles bank robber on parole refused to give a blood sample. Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that authorities must have "reasonable suspicion" that parolees committed crimes other than the ones for which they have been convicted in order to justify the DNA sampling.
The ruling could prohibit the DNA sampling of prison inmates as well as parolees. In a footnote, Reinhardt wrote that a prisoner "retains an expectation of privacy in his body unless there is reasonable cause to violate his bodily integrity and a legitimate penological interest in doing so."
The government argued that the samples are needed to deter crime and that people convicted of crimes should have a lower expectation of privacy. Similarly, commentary that accompanies Hawaii's law states that the Legislature found that "the needs of society to deter sexual and violent crimes" outweigh past offenders' privacy rights. A 9th Circuit panel upheld a similar Oregon law in 1995.
Carried to the extreme, the new appellate ruling, if allowed to stand, would wreak havoc on the FBI database and those assembled by Hawaii and other states.
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Hawaii businesses
show great promiseAWAY from the dazzle of tourism burn bright lights that spark expansion and diversification of Hawaii's economic base. Among them are businesses that astutely incorporate the state's natural resources and develop distinctive products that draw money and jobs to the islands.
THE ISSUE
The state has recognized an abalone grower and a water purifying company for their innovative export products.
One is Big Island Abalone Corp., which in 1997 began modestly as a research and development tenant at the state's Natural Energy Laboratory at Keahole Point. This year the company projects its sales of Ezo, a Japanese abalone, will reach close to $3 million, a success that has won it recognition as Hawaii's Exporter of 2003.
The largest abalone farm in the nation operates on 10 acres at the Hawaii Ocean Sciences and Technology Park and, at full capacity next year, will raise 100 tons, producing 55 percent of U.S. abalone exports to Japan. In the next decade, the company hopes to expand to 60 acres, producing 1,000 tons with annual sales of $40 million.
Aquaculture has great potential for creating sustainable industries in Hawaii, although open-ocean fish farming has come under scrutiny because of its effects on the environment. However, Big Island Abalone's product is grown in tanks on land, using cold, nutrient-rich seawater pumped from a depth of 3,000 feet to create a near-perfect environment that simulates natural abalone habitat.
Another company making good use of Hawaii's natural resources is Safe Water Systems, located at the Manoa Innovation Center. It captured the state's 2003 Exporter of Manufactured Products award, developing and producing water purifying systems that require no electricity, fuels or chemicals. Instead, it uses solar heat to pasteurize water.
The systems are 99.999 percent effective in destroying pathogens and viruses that can cause illnesses. Because they require no infrastructure, they are ideal for developing and Third World countries where potable water isn't available. Once set up, which can be done in a few hours, the simple systems need minimal maintenance and can produce up to 250 gallons per day at a cost of between a penny and 50 cents a person.
Realizing that people in poor countries would not be able to afford even that, Safe Water has established partnerships with relief organizations, businesses and other groups. As a result, more than 100,000 people in 48 countries now have clean water to drink.
Homes in rural or remote areas of Hawaii that aren't hooked up to municipal water systems can use the solar panels to purify water. In emergencies, when municipal water supplies and electricity may be cut off, the systems can provide clean water quickly.
These companies are building solid foundations for economic opportunity in Hawaii. Both have earned their awards.
