DENVER, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A new DNA technique called familial searching has prompted a battle between a Denver district attorney and California Attorney General Jerry Brown.
At issue is Brown's refusal to allow Denver prosecutor Mitchell Morrissey to use the DNA profile and identity of a California felon to track an unknown rapist, USA Today reported Friday.
Morrissey says the California man is genetically similar to the man who committed a rape in Denver and is probably a close relative.
The FBI maintains a criminal DNA database and lets states share information not only in perfect matches, but also in cases like the Denver rape in which DNA similarities suggest the suspect is a relative.
Familial searching for near matches has been used in Britain since 2002 to solve slayings, rapes and other cases by tracing the perpetrator though a relative's genetic profile.
In refusing to release the information Morrissey wants, Brown cited the need to protect the privacy of the California felon.
