South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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S. 1171

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Thomas and Hutto
Document Path: l:\council\bills\pt\1999cm04.doc

Introduced in the Senate on April 20, 2004
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary

Summary: DNA testing, comparative samples procedures

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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   4/20/2004  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-4
   4/20/2004  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-4

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

4/20/2004

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 23-3-800 SO AS TO PROVIDE A COMPARATIVE SAMPLES PROCEDURE FOR A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN CONVICTED AND SENTENCED FOR A FELONY TO HAVE ANY EVIDENCE THAT IS IN THE POSSESSION OR CONTROL OF THE STATE THAT IS RELATED TO THE INVESTIGATION OR PROSECUTION THAT RESULTED IN HIS CONVICTION TO UNDERGO DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID TESTING THAT MAY LEAD TO THE RECONSIDERATION OF THE CONVICTION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Article 9, Chapter 3, Title 23 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 23-3-800.    (A)    At any time, a person who has been convicted of and sentenced for a felony offense, and who meets the requirements of this section, may file a motion with the chief administrative judge for general sessions of the county where he was convicted for the forensic deoxyribonucleic acid testing of any evidence that is in the possession or control of the court or the State, that is related to the investigation or prosecution that resulted in the conviction, and that may contain biological evidence.

(B)    After notice to the prosecutor and an opportunity to respond, the court shall order deoxyribonucleic acid testing if the court finds that:

(1)    a reasonable probability exists that the petitioner would not have been prosecuted or convicted if exculpatory results had been obtained through deoxyribonucleic acid testing;

(2)    the evidence is still in existence and is in a condition that allows deoxyribonucleic acid testing; and

(3)    the evidence previously was not subjected to deoxyribonucleic acid testing, or there is a reasonable basis to demand independent testing by a second and different laboratory or technician, or was not subjected to the testing that is now requested and that may resolve an issue not previously resolved by the previous testing; and

(4)    a test result excluding the defendant would, in the context of the facts and evidence, be inconsistent with guilt and establish a reasonable probability of exoneration.

(C)    After notice to the prosecutor and an opportunity to respond, the court may order deoxyribonucleic acid testing if the court finds that:

(1)    a reasonable probability exists that either:

(a)    the petitioner's verdict or sentence would have been more favorable if the results of deoxyribonucleic acid testing had been available at the trial leading to the judgment of conviction; or

(b)    deoxyribonucleic acid testing will produce exculpatory evidence;

(2)    The evidence is still in existence and is in a condition that allows deoxyribonucleic acid testing to be conducted; and

(3)    the evidence previously was not subjected to deoxyribonucleic acid testing or there is reasonable basis to demand independent testing by a second and different laboratory or technician, or the evidence was not subjected to the testing that is now requested and may resolve an issue not previously resolved by the previous testing.

(D)    If the court orders testing pursuant to subsection (B), the court shall order the method and determine the responsibility for payment from the accused, or state or county funds, or other funds, if necessary. If the court orders testing pursuant to subsection (C), the court may require the petitioner to pay the costs of testing. This section shall not be construed to limit or otherwise impair existing rights of access to (DNA) deoxyribonucleic acid testing in appeal. Post-conviction relief or habeas stages of procedure.

(E)    The court may appoint counsel for an indigent petitioner at any time during any proceedings under this section.

(F)    If the court orders testing pursuant to this section, the court shall approve the laboratory that meets prevailing standards for deoxyribonucleic acid testing.

(G)    If the prosecutor or defense counsel previously has subjected evidence to deoxyribonucleic acid testing, the court may order the prosecutor or defense counsel to provide all the parties and the court with access to the laboratory reports that were prepared in connection with the testing, including underlying data and laboratory notes. If the court orders deoxyribonucleic acid testing pursuant to this section, the court shall order the production of any laboratory reports that are prepared in connection with the testing and may order the production of any underlying data and laboratory notes.

(H)    If a motion is filed pursuant to this section, the court shall order the State to preserve during the pendency of the proceeding all evidence in the state's possession or control that could be subjected to deoxyribonucleic acid testing. The State shall prepare an inventory of the evidence and shall submit a copy of the inventory to the defense and the court. All defendants convicted of a felony must be notified of the potential destruction of evidence and given adequate time to petition for deoxyribonucleic acid testing before the destruction of any evidence related to the investigation.

(I)    The court may issue any other orders that the court considers appropriate, including designating:

(1)    the type of deoxyribonucleic acid analysis to be used;

(2)    the procedures to be followed during the testing;

(3)    the preservation of some of the sample for other or future replicate testing; and

(4)    testing of elimination samples from third parties.

(J)    If the results of the post-conviction deoxyribonucleic acid testing are not favorable to the petitioner, the court shall deny the motion. If the results are favorable to the petitioner, the court may make further orders as it considers appropriate, including:

(1)    scheduling and holding a hearing upon a Motion for New Trial Upon After Discovered Evidence, notwithstanding any provision of law or evidence regarding prior discovery though due diligence;

(2)    requesting that the petitioner's sample be added to the federal combined DNA index system offender database; and

(3)    providing notification to the victim or family of the victim of the status of the proceedings.

(K)    Notwithstanding any other provision of law that would bar a hearing as untimely, if the results of the post-conviction deoxyribonucleic acid testing are favorable to the petition, the court shall order a hearing and make any further orders that are required pursuant to this article or the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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