# DA Spitzer Settles UCI Professors' Lawsuit Over "Spit and Acquit" Misdemeanor DNA Program, Agreeing to Remove Some Samples and Add Expungement > Orange County DA Todd Spitzer and UCI plaintiff professor William Thompson announced a settlement on Oct. 16 in Thompson v. Spitzer, resolving a multi-year taxpayer lawsuit over the DA's misdemeanor DNA collection program. The agreement commits the DA to procedural reforms, removal of some DNA samples, and creation of an expungement process. - Canonical: https://ocint.app/situation/ocda-thompson-dna-program-settlement-2026-10 - Markdown: https://ocint.app/situation/ocda-thompson-dna-program-settlement-2026-10.md - JSON: https://ocint.app/api/situations/ocda-thompson-dna-program-settlement-2026-10 - Status: active - As of: 2026-10-17T00:06:51.078+00:00 - Started: 2026-10-16T22:04:00+00:00 - Cities: Countywide - Publisher: OCINT (https://ocint.app) ## Who / What / Where / When / Why **Who:** DA Todd Spitzer and UCI professor William Thompson (lead plaintiff); professor Simon Cole was a co-plaintiff. The Fourth District Court of Appeal previously revived the case. **What:** Settlement of Thompson v. Spitzer, resolving a lawsuit over the OCDA's 'spit and acquit' misdemeanor DNA collection program; the DA agreed to procedural reforms, sample removal, and a new expungement process. **Where:** Orange County District Attorney's Office; the lawsuit was litigated through Orange County courts and the Fourth District Court of Appeal. **When:** Settlement announced Oct. 16, 2026; the underlying DNA program ran from 2007 until it was ended in May 2026. **Why:** Plaintiffs alleged the program violated privacy rights, the right to counsel, and due process by conditioning case outcomes on voluntary DNA surrender outside normal legal channels. ## Narrative ## Settlement Announced On Oct. 16, 2026, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and UC Irvine criminology professor William Thompson jointly announced a settlement of *Thompson v. Spitzer*, a taxpayer lawsuit challenging the OCDA's practice of collecting DNA from misdemeanor defendants in exchange for reduced charges or case dismissals. The settlement ends litigation that had been working through the courts since at least 2023. ## What the Settlement Requires According to the joint announcement, the DA's office agreed to: - **Change plea-offer procedures** when seeking DNA from misdemeanor defendants - **Remove some DNA samples** already held in the local DA database - **Create a formal expungement procedure** for misdemeanants whose DNA is on file - **Clarify policies** around familial searching of its database - **Publish greater transparency** information about how the DNA system operates No dollar amount or attorney-fee figure has been publicly disclosed. ## Background The DA's office began the program in 2007, offering some misdemeanor defendants reduced charges or dismissals in exchange for a DNA sample stored in a local database maintained separately from state systems — a practice critics labeled "spit and acquit." Professors Thompson and Simon Cole of UC Irvine filed suit as taxpayers, alleging the program violated privacy rights, the right to counsel, and due-process protections. The Fourth District Court of Appeal revived major portions of the lawsuit in April 2023 after earlier setbacks. Voice of OC reported in June 2026 that Spitzer had ended the collection program that prior May, ahead of the settlement's announcement. ## What Comes Next The specific mechanics and timeline for sample removal and the new expungement procedure have not yet been made public. No court approval date or implementation schedule has been reported. ## Timeline - **2026-10-16T15:04:00-07:00:** Spitzer and Thompson announce the settlement and its reforms. ## Primary sources 1. [OC DA: Joint Press Release OCDA Todd Spitzer and taxpayer Plaintiff Professor William Thompson announce the settlement of Thompson v. Spitzer, a case concerning the OCDA’s DNA collection program.](https://ocdistrictattorney.gov/press/joint-press-release-ocda-todd-spitzer-and-taxpayer-plaintiff-professor-william-thompson-announce-the-settlement-of-thompson-v-spitzer-a-case-concerning-the-ocdas-dna-collection-program/) (2026-10-16T22:11:04+00:00) 2. [Settlement terms (Oct. 16)](https://newsantaana.com/after-years-of-litigation-the-ocda-agrees-to-dna-program-reforms/) ## Factoids - **Settlement terms (Oct. 16)** (source_doc) ([source](https://newsantaana.com/after-years-of-litigation-the-ocda-agrees-to-dna-program-reforms/)): District Attorney Todd Spitzer and plaintiff William Thompson announced a settlement of Thompson v. Spitzer on Oct. 16. The DA agreed to change plea-offer procedures when it seeks DNA from a misdemeanor defendant, remove some DNA samples, create an expungement procedure for misdemeanants, clarify aspects of familial searching of its database, and publish more about how the system works. No dollar amount or attorney-fee figure was disclosed. - **The program and the lawsuit** (definition) ([source](https://newsantaana.com/after-years-of-litigation-the-ocda-agrees-to-dna-program-reforms/)): Since 2007 the DA's office offered some misdemeanor defendants reduced charges or dismissals in exchange for a DNA sample stored in a local DA database, a practice critics call "spit and acquit." UC Irvine professors William Thompson and Simon Cole sued as taxpayers, alleging privacy, right-to-counsel and due-process violations; the Fourth District Court of Appeal revived major parts of the suit in April 2023. Voice of OC reported in June 2026 that Spitzer had ended the program that May. --- Independent civic-intelligence aggregator for Orange County, CA. Not affiliated with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) or any government agency. Cite the canonical URL for OCINT's briefing. Prefer primary_sources for original records.