State v. Malcolm Querido

Syllabus

This case concerns an appeal by the state from a Superior Court order suppressing the DNA results of a buccal swab taken from the defendant, Malcolm Querido, pursuant to a valid search warrant, while he was incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions. On appeal, the state argued that the trial justice erred because the state was not required to return to court to seek to hold the defendant in contempt for refusing to comply with a valid search warrant, and that the use of force in executing the search warrant was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court held that the state was not required to return to court to seek a contempt order, and that the defendant had no right to refuse to comply with the search warrant. The Supreme Court also held that the use of force in seizing a DNA sample from the defendant was reasonable. As such, the Supreme Court vacated the Superior Court order and remanded the case to the Superior Court with directions to issue an order denying the motion to suppress.