PrivacyNew Hampshire bill would limit searches, expand expectation of privacy

New Hampshire bill may thwart evidence collection // Source: bigstock.com

New Hampshire State Representative Neal Kurk ® says state residents do not expect,when they throw something out in their trash or leave a drinking glass with their saliva on it at a public place, that law enforcement, insurance companies, or data miners would use the trash left behind to glean personally identifiable information. Kurk told the Union Leader that people do not give up the right to their personally identifiable information because they leave a beer glass in a bar.

Kurk has introduced House Bill 311 in the state legislature, which would protect people’s identifiable information, including DNA, retinal scans, fingerprints, personal biometrics, credit card information, phone numbers, and work history from use by law enforcement without a court-issued warrant supported by probable cause.

Under the bill, knowingly obtaining a person’s identifying information will be a class B misdemeanor which would include a $1,000 fine. A second offense would be a class B felony with a $2,000 fine.

The Union Leader notes that law enforcement agencies in the state were quick to oppose the bill, saying passing it would make it impossible to process a crime scene and retrieve information paramount to solving crimes.

Chris Casko, the Department of Safety attorney, told the Union Leader that the penalty would seriously impede officers from doing their jobs.

Officers would be forced to decide whether to take information, knowing they could be charged, prosecuted, and possibly sued in a civil proceeding, Casko told the House Judiciary Committee at a public hearing on Tuesday.

Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Woodcock agreed with Casko saying that law enforcement would not be able to use information gathered at a crime scene because they would not be able to show probable cause for a warrant under the bill.

“When police process a crime scene they process all manner of information to track it down,” Woodcock said at the meeting.

Woodcock also mentioned how a cigarette butt, thrown on the ground by a man after an interview with police, led to him being linked to the murder of a young girl. “There is no way police could have gotten a search warrant,” Woodcock said.

Kurk say his bill is about the balance between liberty and public safety, and while the bill would make the job hard for law enforcement, they can still obtain information through other channels.

According to Kurk, his bill expands a person’s expectation of privacy to all personally identifiable information the person may or may not have abandoned as a public policy determined by lawmakers.

The committee has not made a recommendation on the bill.