Sen. Don Harmon

Filed: 5/26/2021

 

 


 

 


 
10200HB3443sam004LRB102 12812 LNS 27098 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3443

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3443 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
5amended by changing Section 116-4 as follows:
 
6    (725 ILCS 5/116-4)
7    Sec. 116-4. Preservation of evidence for forensic testing.
8    (a) Before or after the the trial in a prosecution for a
9violation of Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50,
1011-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the
11Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or in a
12prosecution for an offense defined in Article 9 of that Code,
13or in a prosecution for an attempt in violation of Section 8-4
14of that Code of any of the above-enumerated offenses, unless
15otherwise provided herein under subsection (b) or (c), a law
16enforcement agency or an agent acting on behalf of the law

 

 

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1enforcement agency shall preserve, subject to a continuous
2chain of custody, any physical evidence in their possession or
3control that is reasonably likely to contain forensic
4evidence, including, but not limited to, fingerprints or
5biological material secured in relation to a trial and with
6sufficient documentation to locate that evidence.
7    (b) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the
8evidence shall either be impounded with the Clerk of the
9Circuit Court or shall be securely retained by a law
10enforcement agency. Retention shall be permanent in cases
11where a sentence of death is imposed. Retention shall be until
12the completion of the sentence, including the period of
13mandatory supervised release for the offense, or January 1,
142006, whichever is later, for any conviction for an offense or
15an attempt of an offense defined in Article 9 of the Criminal
16Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or in Section
1711-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14,
1812-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
19Criminal Code of 2012 or for 7 years following any conviction
20for any other felony for which the defendant's genetic profile
21may be taken by a law enforcement agency and submitted for
22comparison in a forensic DNA database for unsolved offenses.
23    (c) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the law
24enforcement agency required to retain evidence described in
25subsection (a) may petition the court with notice to the
26defendant or, in cases where the defendant has died, his

 

 

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1estate, his attorney of record, or an attorney appointed for
2that purpose by the court for entry of an order allowing it to
3dispose of evidence if, after a hearing, the court determines
4by a preponderance of the evidence that:
5        (1) it has no significant value for forensic science
6    analysis and should be returned to its rightful owner,
7    destroyed, used for training purposes, or as otherwise
8    provided by law; or
9        (2) it has no significant value for forensic science
10    analysis and is of a size, bulk, or physical character not
11    usually retained by the law enforcement agency and cannot
12    practicably be retained by the law enforcement agency; or
13        (3) there no longer exists a reasonable basis to
14    require the preservation of the evidence because of the
15    death of the defendant; however, this paragraph (3) does
16    not apply if a sentence of death was imposed.
17    (d) The court may order the disposition of the evidence if
18the defendant is allowed the opportunity to take reasonable
19measures to remove or preserve portions of the evidence in
20question for future testing.
21    (d-5) Any order allowing the disposition of evidence
22pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) shall be a final and
23appealable order. No evidence shall be disposed of until 30
24days after the order is entered, and if a notice of appeal is
25filed, no evidence shall be disposed of until the mandate has
26been received by the circuit court from the appellate court.

 

 

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1    (d-10) All records documenting the possession, control,
2storage, and destruction of evidence and all police reports,
3evidence control or inventory records, and other reports cited
4in this Section, including computer records, must be retained
5for as long as the evidence exists and may not be disposed of
6without the approval of the Local Records Commission.
7    (e) In this Section, "law enforcement agency" includes any
8of the following or an agent acting on behalf of any of the
9following: a municipal police department, county sheriff's
10office, any prosecuting authority, the Department of State
11Police, or any other State, university, county, federal, or
12municipal police unit or police force.
13    "Biological material" includes, but is not limited to, any
14blood, hair, saliva, or semen from which genetic marker
15groupings may be obtained.
16(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)".