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Nason v. State12/3/2004
convicted of any felony defined in AS 28.35, plus all people convicted of a misdemeanor for which sex offender registration is required. Thus, the current version of the statute is not susceptible to the equal protection attack that Nason presents in this appeal.
Nevertheless, we must address Nason's attack on the earlier version of the statute, since this is the version that led to his prosecution and conviction.
We conclude that the earlier version of the statute did not violate the equal protection clause because the legislature had a valid reason for singling out people convicted of felonies against a person. Generally speaking, these felonies are the ones most likely to yield DNA evidence that can be used to identify the perpetrator - because, in most of the felonies defined in AS 11.41, the perpetrator will be present at the scene of the crime and will touch the victim or touch a weapon or other instrument used for assaultive purposes. Moreover, the legislature could reasonably conclude that people willing to commit these types of assaultive crimes are more likely to do so in the future.
For these reasons, assuming that DNA collection from convicted prisoners is constitutional, we conclude that the legislature did not violate the equal protection clause when, in the former version of the statute, it limited DNA collection to people convicted of felonies against a person.
Conclusion
The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
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