Tilley v The King

The case of *Tilley v The King* concerned an appeal against a conviction for murder. The prosecution's case was that the deceased was stabbed to death during a robbery at a newsagency. The appellant's conviction was based, in part, on DNA evidence obtained through a "familial search" of a DNA database. The appellant argued that this method of DNA searching was unlawful and infringed upon his right to genetic privacy.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the process of familial searching, as conducted in this case, constituted an unlawful use of the DNA database under the relevant legislation. Specifically, the Court had to determine if section 45(2)(a) of the *Crimes Legislation Further Provisions Act* (CLFPA) permitted such a search, and whether this interpretation was consistent with the broader purpose of the Act and the protection of genetic privacy.

The Court reasoned that a plain reading of section 45(2)(a) of the CLFPA allowed for the comparison of DNA profiles lawfully stored on the database. The familial search undertaken involved precisely this: comparing DNA profiles to identify potential relatives of the donor of an unknown DNA profile found at the crime scene. The Court found that this process did not involve an unlawful use of the database, nor did it directly engage with the appellant's DNA profile or migrate it into the database. The Court also considered section 50 of the CLFPA, which governs disclosure of information from the database, and found that its provisions for disclosure for criminal investigation purposes complemented the permissible uses outlined in section 45(2)(a). The Court concluded that the familial searching conducted in this case was permissible under the statutory scheme.