In the Matter of Lavigne

This appeal by Richard R. Lavigne from a Superior Court judge’s order denying his motion for the return of a sample of his blood and allowing the Commonwealth’s motion for access to the blood sample requires us to decide whether, and if so, in what circumstances, a judge may order a person not charged with a criminal offense nor the subject of a grand jury investigation to have blood extracted from his body. Because we decide that the compelled extraction of a person’s blood for the purpose of testing its immutable characteristics to assist the Commonwealth in investigating a crime without…