101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB0645

 

Introduced , by Rep. Michael J. Madigan

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
725 ILCS 5/116-4

    Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning preservation of evidence for forensic testing.


LRB101 03643 SLF 48651 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0645LRB101 03643 SLF 48651 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
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 Criminal
11Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or in a prosecution
12for an offense defined in Article 9 of that Code, or in a
13prosecution for an attempt in violation of Section 8-4 of that
14Code of any of the above-enumerated offenses, unless otherwise
15provided herein under subsection (b) or (c), a law enforcement
16agency or an agent acting on behalf of the law enforcement
17agency shall preserve, subject to a continuous chain of
18custody, any physical evidence in their possession or control
19that is reasonably likely to contain forensic evidence,
20including, but not limited to, fingerprints or biological
21material secured in relation to a trial and with sufficient
22documentation to locate that evidence.
23    (b) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the evidence

 

 

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1shall either be impounded with the Clerk of the Circuit Court
2or shall be securely retained by a law enforcement agency.
3Retention shall be permanent in cases where a sentence of death
4is imposed. Retention shall be until the completion of the
5sentence, including the period of mandatory supervised release
6for the offense, or January 1, 2006, whichever is later, for
7any conviction for an offense or an attempt of an offense
8defined in Article 9 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
9Criminal Code of 2012 or in Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40,
1011-1.50, 11-1.60, 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 for 7
12years following any conviction for any other felony for which
13the defendant's genetic profile may be taken by a law
14enforcement agency and submitted for comparison in a forensic
15DNA database for unsolved offenses.
16    (c) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the law
17enforcement agency required to retain evidence described in
18subsection (a) may petition the court with notice to the
19defendant or, in cases where the defendant has died, his
20estate, his attorney of record, or an attorney appointed for
21that purpose by the court for entry of an order allowing it to
22dispose of evidence if, after a hearing, the court determines
23by a preponderance of the evidence that:
24        (1) it has no significant value for forensic science
25    analysis and should be returned to its rightful owner,
26    destroyed, used for training purposes, or as otherwise

 

 

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1    provided by law; or
2        (2) it has no significant value for forensic science
3    analysis and is of a size, bulk, or physical character not
4    usually retained by the law enforcement agency and cannot
5    practicably be retained by the law enforcement agency; or
6        (3) there no longer exists a reasonable basis to
7    require the preservation of the evidence because of the
8    death of the defendant; however, this paragraph (3) does
9    not apply if a sentence of death was imposed.
10    (d) The court may order the disposition of the evidence if
11the defendant is allowed the opportunity to take reasonable
12measures to remove or preserve portions of the evidence in
13question for future testing.
14    (d-5) Any order allowing the disposition of evidence
15pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) shall be a final and
16appealable order. No evidence shall be disposed of until 30
17days after the order is entered, and if a notice of appeal is
18filed, no evidence shall be disposed of until the mandate has
19been received by the circuit court from the appellate court.
20    (d-10) All records documenting the possession, control,
21storage, and destruction of evidence and all police reports,
22evidence control or inventory records, and other reports cited
23in this Section, including computer records, must be retained
24for as long as the evidence exists and may not be disposed of
25without the approval of the Local Records Commission.
26    (e) In this Section, "law enforcement agency" includes any

 

 

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1of the following or an agent acting on behalf of any of the
2following: a municipal police department, county sheriff's
3office, any prosecuting authority, the Department of State
4Police, or any other State, university, county, federal, or
5municipal police unit or police force.
6    "Biological material" includes, but is not limited to, any
7blood, hair, saliva, or semen from which genetic marker
8groupings may be obtained.
9(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)