Bill Text: VA HB898 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Forensic Science, Department of; laboratory procedures, requirements regarding DNA profiles.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-28 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0210) [HB898 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB898-Comm_Sub.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§9.1-1104, 9.1-1111, 19.2-187.01, 19.2-270.5, 19.2-310.4, 19.2-310.5, and 19.2-310.6 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§9.1-1104. Rights of accused person or his attorney to results of investigation or to investigation.
Upon the request of any person accused of a crime or upon the request of an accused person's attorney, the Department or the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services shall furnish to the accused or his attorney the results of any investigation that has been conducted by it and that is related in any way to a crime for which the person is accused. In any case in which an attorney of record for a person accused of violation of any criminal law of the Commonwealth, or the accused, may desire a scientific investigation, he shall, by motion filed before the court in which the charge is pending, certify that in good faith he believes that a scientific investigation may be relevant to the criminal charge and that the Department or the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services has indicated it has a methodology to perform the requested scientific investigation. The motion shall be heard ex parte as soon as practicable, and the court shall, after a hearing upon the motion and being satisfied as to the correctness of the certification, order that the same be performed by the Department or the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services and shall prescribe in its order the method of custody, transfer, and return of evidence submitted for scientific investigation. Upon the request of the attorney for the Commonwealth of the jurisdiction in which the charge is pending, he shall be furnished the results of the scientific investigation.
§9.1-1111. Scientific Advisory Committee; membership.
The Scientific Advisory Committee is hereby established as an
advisory board within the meaning of §2.2-2100, in the executive branch of
state government. The Scientific Advisory Committee (the Committee) shall
consist of 13 members, consisting of the Director of the Department, and 12 members
appointed by the Governor as follows: a director of a private or federal
forensic laboratory located in the Commonwealth; a forensic scientist or
any other person, with an advanced degree, who has received substantial
education, training, or experience in the subject of laboratory standards or
quality assurance regulation and monitoring; a forensic scientist with an
advanced degree who has received substantial education, training, or experience
in the discipline of molecular biology; a forensic scientist with an advanced
degree and having experience in the discipline of population genetics; a
scientist with an advanced degree and having experience in the discipline of
forensic chemistry; a scientist with an advanced degree and having experience
in the discipline of forensic biology; a forensic scientist or any other
person, with an advanced degree who has received substantial education,
training, or experience in the discipline of trace evidence; a scientist with a
doctoral degree and having experience in the discipline of forensic toxicology,
who is certified by the American Board of Forensic Toxicologists
Toxicology; a member of the Board of the International Association for
Identification when initially appointed; a member of the Board of the
Association of Firearms and Toolmark Tool Mark Examiners when
initially appointed; a member of the International Association for Chemical
Testing; and a member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors.
Members of the Committee initially appointed shall serve the following terms: four members shall serve a term of one year, four members shall serve a term of two years, and four members shall serve a term of four years. Thereafter, all appointments shall be for a term of four years. A vacancy other than by expiration of term shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired term.
Members of the Committee shall be paid reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, and shall receive compensation for their services as provided in §§2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825.
§19.2-187.01. Certificate of analysis as evidence of chain of custody of material described therein.
A report of analysis duly attested by the person performing such analysis or examination in any laboratory operated by (i) the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, the Department of Forensic Science or any of its regional laboratories, or by any laboratory authorized by such Division or Department to conduct such analysis or examination; (ii) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (iii) the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; (iv) the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; (v) the federal Drug Enforcement Administration; (vi) the United States Postal Service; (vii) the U.S. Secret Service; or (viii) the Forensic Document Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shall be prima facie evidence in a criminal or civil proceeding as to the custody of the material described therein from the time such material is received by an authorized agent of such laboratory until such material is released subsequent to such analysis or examination. Any such certificate of analysis purporting to be signed by any such person shall be admissible as evidence in such hearing or trial without any proof of the seal or signature or of the official character of the person whose name is signed to it. The signature of the person who received the material for the laboratory on the request for laboratory examination form or evidence submission receipt, either by hand or by electronic means, shall be deemed prima facie evidence that the person receiving the material was an authorized agent and that such receipt constitutes proper receipt by the laboratory for purposes of this section. For purposes of this section, any laboratory that has entered into a contract with the Department of Forensic Science for the provision of forensic laboratory services shall be deemed authorized by the Department to conduct such analyses or examinations.
§19.2-270.5. DNA profile admissible in criminal proceeding.
In any criminal proceeding, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing shall be deemed to be a reliable scientific technique and the evidence of a DNA profile comparison may be admitted to prove or disprove the identity of any person. This section shall not otherwise limit the introduction of any relevant evidence bearing upon any question at issue before the court, including the accuracy and reliability of the procedures employed in the collection and analysis of a particular DNA sample. The court shall, regardless of the results of the DNA analysis, if any, consider such other relevant evidence of the identity of the accused as shall be admissible in evidence.
At least twenty-one 21 days prior to
commencement of the proceeding in which the results of a DNA analysis will be
offered as evidence, the party intending to offer the evidence shall notify the
opposing party, in writing, of the intent to offer the analysis and shall
provide or make available copies of the profiles and the report or
statement to be introduced. In the event that such notice is not given, and the
person proffers such evidence, then the court may in its discretion either
allow the opposing party a continuance or, under appropriate circumstances, bar
the person from presenting such evidence. The period of any such continuance
shall not be counted for speedy trial purposes under §19.2-243. If the
opposing party intends to object to the admissibility of such evidence he shall
give written notice of that fact and the basis for his objections at least
ten 10 days prior to commencement of the proceedings.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the parties to obtain additional writings or documents, including the profiles, used to reach the conclusion in the report pursuant to § 19.2-187.2.
§19.2-310.4. Procedures for conducting DNA analysis of blood, saliva or tissue sample.
Whether or not the results of an analysis are to be included
in the data bank, the Department shall conduct the DNA analysis in accordance with
procedures adopted by the Department to determine identification
characteristics specific to the individual whose sample is being analyzed. The
Director or his designated representative shall complete and maintain on file a
form indicating the name of the person whose sample is to be analyzed, the date
and by whom the blood, saliva or tissue sample was received and examined, and a
statement that the seal on the tube or envelope containing the sample had not
been broken or otherwise tampered with. The remainder of a blood, saliva or
tissue sample submitted for analysis and inclusion in the data bank pursuant to
§19.2-310.2 or 19.2-310.2:1 may be divided, labeled as provided for the
original sample, and securely stored by the Department in accordance with
specific procedures adopted by regulation of the Department to ensure the
integrity and confidentiality of the samples. All or part of the remainder of
that sample may be used only (i) to create a statistical data base
database provided no identifying information on the individual whose sample
is being analyzed is included or (ii) for retesting by the Department to
validate or update the original analysis.
A report of the results of a DNA analysis conducted by the
Department as authorized, including the profile and identifying information,
shall be made and maintained at the Department. A certificate and the results
of the analysis shall be admissible in any court as evidence of the facts
therein stated. Except as specifically provided in this section and §
19.2-310.5, the results of the analysis shall be securely stored and shall
remain confidential.
§19.2-310.5. DNA data bank.
A. It shall be the duty of the Department to receive samples of human biological evidence and to analyze, classify, and file the results of DNA identification characteristics profiles of samples of human biological evidence submitted pursuant to §19.2-310.2 or 19.2-310.2:1 and to make such information available as provided in this section. The results of an analysis and comparison of evidence submitted to the Department pursuant to §9.1-1101 to the identification characteristics of human biological evidence so analyzed, classified, and filed shall be made available directly to duly authorized members of federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies or private police departments that have been designated as criminal justice agencies by the Department of Criminal Justice Services as defined by §9.1-101, attorneys for the Commonwealth or attorneys for the United States Department of Justice, or the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner upon request made in furtherance of an official investigation or prosecution of any criminal offense, or to an accused or his attorney pursuant to §9.1-1104. The Department shall confirm whether or not there is a DNA profile on file for a specific individual if a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer or any federal, state, or local criminal justice agency that participates in the National DNA Index System requests that information in furtherance of an official investigation of any criminal offense. For law-enforcement identification purposes, the Department shall provide to any federal, state, or local criminal justice agency that participates in the National DNA Index System the personally identifiable information for any confirmed candidate match associated with a DNA data bank record. The name of the requestor and the purpose for which the information is requested shall be maintained on file with the Department.
B. The Department shall adopt regulations governing (i) the methods of obtaining information from the data bank in accordance with this section and (ii) procedures for verification of the identity and authority of the requestor. The Department shall specify the positions in that agency which require regular access to the data bank and samples submitted as a necessary function of the job.
C. The Department shall create a separate statistical data
base database comprised of DNA profiles of samples of human
biological evidence of persons whose identity is unknown. Nothing in this
section or §19.2-310.6 shall prohibit the Department from sharing or otherwise
disseminating the information in the statistical data base database
with law-enforcement or criminal justice agencies within or without the
Commonwealth.
D. The Department may charge a reasonable fee to search and provide a comparative analysis of DNA profiles in the data bank to any authorized law-enforcement agency outside of the Commonwealth.
§19.2-310.6. Unauthorized uses of DNA data bank; forensic samples; penalties.
Any person who, without authority, disseminates information
contained in the data bank shall be is guilty of a Class 3
misdemeanor. Any person who disseminates, receives, or otherwise uses or
attempts to so use information in the data bank, knowing that such
dissemination, receipt, or use is for a purpose other than as authorized by
law, shall be is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Any person who receives information pursuant to § 19.2-270.5, 19.2-310.4, or 19.2-310.5 and discloses such information to any third party who is not an agent or employee of the parties or an expert witness or without a valid court order is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Except as authorized by law, any person who, for purposes of
having DNA analysis performed, obtains or attempts to obtain any sample
submitted to the Department of Forensic Science for analysis shall be
is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
2. That the provisions of §19.2-310.6 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, shall not apply to DNA profiles received by the court and maintained by the clerk in a court file open to the public prior to July 1, 2024.
