R. v. Rodgers, 2006 SCC 15, [2006] 1 S.C.R. 554, is a leading case decided by the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

 on the constitutionality of the collection of blood samples from prisoners. The Court upheld a Criminal Code provision allowing for retroactive DNA samples of prisoners without notice.

Background

Dennis Rodgers was a convicted sex offender who was serving his sentence in an Ontario prison. Since Rodgers was sentenced before the enactment of the 1998 DNA Identification Act, his blood sample was not taken upon sentencing to be placed in the national database. Under the section 487.055(1)(c) of the Criminal Code, the Crown applied for an ex parte

Ex parte

Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning "from one party" .An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present. In Australian, Canadian, U.K., Indian and U.S...

application for the DNA sample. Rodgers challenged the application on the basis that the enabling Code provision violated his Charter rights.

Opinion of the Court

In a four to three decision the Court upheld the Code provisions. Justice Charron, writing for the majority found that the state's interest in his personal information is sufficient to outweigh Rodger's right to privacy. She notes that the DNA sample is akin to a finger print and will only be used for identification purposes. She also finds that the provision is procedurally fair and was a clear articulation of the legislature's intent.

External links

• case summary