| |
|
| |
| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
| |
| HOUSE BILL |
|
| |
| |
| INTRODUCED BY MATZIE, D. COSTA, BELFANTI, KORTZ, SIPTROTH AND WAGNER, SEPTEMBER 22, 2009 |
| |
| |
| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2009 |
| |
| |
| |
| AN ACT |
| |
1 | Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania |
2 | Consolidated Statutes, providing for preservation of |
3 | biological evidence, for violations, for standards and |
4 | training programs and for tracking system. |
5 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
6 | hereby enacts as follows: |
7 | Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated |
8 | Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read: |
9 | CHAPTER 95 |
10 | CRIME LABS |
11 | § 9501. Definitions. |
12 | The following words and phrases when used in this chapter |
13 | shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
14 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
15 | "Biological evidence." Evidence collected in connection with |
16 | a criminal investigation which may contain biological material |
17 | from a victim or a suspect in an offense that was the subject of |
18 | a criminal investigation, or may reasonably be used to |
19 | incriminate or exculpate a person for the offense. |
|
1 | "Custody." Actual or constructive control of: |
2 | (1) a person under sentence of imprisonment; |
3 | (2) a probationer, parolee or person on extended |
4 | supervision of the Department of Corrections; or |
5 | (3) a person under a dispositional order, in |
6 | institutional care, on conditional release or on supervised |
7 | release under a commitment order. |
8 | "DNA." Deoxyribonucleic acid. |
9 | "Inmate." A person convicted, on probation or parole, |
10 | civilly committed or subject to registration as a sex offender |
11 | in connection with a case. |
12 | "Profile." A unique identifier of an individual derived from |
13 | DNA. |
14 | "State." A governmental or public entity within the |
15 | Commonwealth, its officials or employees, including, but not |
16 | limited to: |
17 | (1) Law enforcement agencies. |
18 | (2) Prosecutor's offices. |
19 | (3) Courts. |
20 | (4) Public hospitals. |
21 | (5) Crime laboratories. |
22 | (6) Other entities or individuals charged with the |
23 | collection, storage or retrieval of biological evidence. |
24 | § 9502. Preservation of biological evidence. |
25 | (a) Duty.--The State shall preserve biological evidence |
26 | secured in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a |
27 | felony for the period of time an inmate remains under State |
28 | jurisdiction. This includes evidence: |
29 | (1) In possession of the State during the investigation |
30 | and prosecution of the case. |
|
1 | (2) Likely to contain biological material at the time of |
2 | conviction. |
3 | (b) Prohibition.--The State shall not destroy biological |
4 | evidence so long as a codefendant is an inmate in connection |
5 | with the case. |
6 | (c) Retention of evidence.--The State shall retain evidence |
7 | in an amount and manner sufficient to develop a DNA profile from |
8 | the biological material contained in, or included on, the |
9 | evidence. |
10 | (d) Inventory.--The State shall prepare an inventory of the |
11 | biological evidence that has been preserved in connection with |
12 | the case. |
13 | (e) Destruction of evidence.--The State may destroy evidence |
14 | before the expiration of the time specified in subsection (a) if |
15 | all of the following apply: |
16 | (1) No other provision of Federal or State law requires |
17 | the State to preserve the evidence. |
18 | (2) The State sends a notice of an intent to destroy, |
19 | with an affidavit of service, to: |
20 | (i) The inmate. |
21 | (ii) The attorney of record for each inmate. |
22 | (iii) The public defender. |
23 | (iv) The district attorney. |
24 | (v) The Attorney General. |
25 | (3) No person notified under paragraph (2) does either |
26 | of the following within 180 days of the date of service: |
27 | (i) files a motion for testing of the evidence under |
28 | 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543.1 (relating to postconviction DNA |
29 | testing); or |
30 | (ii) submits a written request for retention of |
|
1 | evidence to the State. |
2 | (f) Duty to retain evidence.--If, after providing a notice |
3 | of intent to destroy under subsection (e)(2), the State receives |
4 | a written request for retention of the evidence, the State shall |
5 | retain the evidence until the inmate is no longer in custody. |
6 | (g) Evidence to be returned to its owner.--The State shall |
7 | not be required to preserve evidence that must be returned to |
8 | its rightful owner, or is of such size, bulk or physical |
9 | character as to render retention impracticable, if practical. |
10 | The State shall remove and preserve portions of this material |
11 | evidence sufficient to permit future DNA testing before |
12 | returning or disposing of it. |
13 | (h) Missing biological evidence.--Should the State be called |
14 | upon to produce biological evidence that could not be located, |
15 | and whose preservation was required under the provisions of this |
16 | chapter, the chief evidence custodian assigned to the entity |
17 | charged with the preservation of the evidence shall provide an |
18 | affidavit in which the chief evidence custodian stipulates, |
19 | under penalty of perjury, the efforts taken to locate the |
20 | evidence and that the evidence could not be located. |
21 | § 9503. Violations. |
22 | The court may impose appropriate sanctions or remedies, such |
23 | as contempt, granting a new trial, dismissal of charges, |
24 | sentence reduction or sentence modification if the court |
25 | determines that evidence was destroyed in violation of the |
26 | provisions of this chapter. |
27 | § 9504. Standards and training programs. |
28 | (a) Standards.--The State shall devise standards for the |
29 | proper collection and retention of biological evidence. |
30 | (b) Training programs.--The Attorney General shall |
|
1 | administer and conduct training programs for law enforcement |
2 | officers and other relevant employees who are charged with |
3 | preserving biological evidence regarding the methods and |
4 | procedures referenced in this chapter. |
5 | § 9505. Tracking system. |
6 | (a) Duty to develop.--The State shall develop a centralized |
7 | tracking system for biological evidence in its control. |
8 | (b) Functioning.--The system shall allow evidence connected |
9 | to either open cases or postconviction DNA testing cases to be |
10 | located expeditiously. |
11 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
|