The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard SB 263 on evidence preservation requirements authored by Sen. Doriot.The billestablishes that evidence for a violent offense in the possession or control of a law enforcement agency shall be preserved for twenty years. The bill sets forth the preservation and disposal requirements and established that notice to the defendant or the defendant’s attorney is required before disposal.
The bill was amended by consent. The amendment provides that:
- a law enforcement agency shall not be precluded from submitting biological evidence to forensic DNA testing or analysis at its own initiative or at the request of a prosecuting attorney
- in the event that DNA testing and analysis results in a vacated conviction, all biological evidence shall continue to be preserved for an additional 20 years from the date a subsequent conviction of any person becomes final or, if there is no subsequent conviction, then for the remainder of the statute of limitations for the offense
- failure of a law enforcement agency to follow the procedures described in this section may constitute contempt of court.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and Professor Fran Watson of IU McKinney School of Law’s Wrongful Conviction Clinic testified in support of the bill.
The amended bill passed 9-0.
Read the bill at: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/senate/263