18 U.S.C. § 3600A Preservation of Biological Evidence

LibraryUnited States Statutes
Edition2023
CurrencyCurrent through P.L. 118-22 with Court Rules updates (published on www.congress.gov on 12/01/2023)
Year2023
Citation18 U.S.C. § 3600A

(a) IN GENERAL.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Government shall preserve biological evidence that was secured in the investigation or prosecution of a Federal offense, if a defendant is sentenced to imprisonment for such offense.

(b) DEFINED TERM.-For purposes of this section, the term "biological evidence" means-

(1) a sexual assault forensic examination kit; or

(2) semen, blood, saliva, hair, skin tissue, or other identified biological material.

(c) APPLICABILITY.-Subsection (a) shall not apply if-

(1) after a conviction becomes final and the defendant has exhausted all opportunities for direct review of the conviction, the defendant is notified that the biological evidence may be destroyed and the defendant does not file a motion under section 3600 within 180 days of receipt of the notice;

(2)

(A) the evidence must be returned to its rightful owner, or is of such a size, bulk, or physical character as to render retention impracticable; and

(B) the Government takes reasonable measures to remove and preserve portions of the material evidence sufficient to permit future DNA testing; or

(3) the biological evidence has already been subjected to DNA testing under section 3600 and the results included the defendant as the source of such evidence.

(d) OTHER PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT.-Nothing in this section shall preempt or supersede any statute, regulation, court order, or other provision of law that may require evidence, including biological evidence, to be preserved.

(e) REGULATIONS.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Innocence Protection Act of 2004, the Attorney General shall promulgate regulations to implement and enforce this section, including appropriate disciplinary sanctions to ensure that employees comply with such regulations.

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