§ 12592. Index to facilitate law enforcement exchange of DNA identification information

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Establishment of index The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation may establish an index of—

(1)DNA identification records of—

(A)persons convicted of crimes;

(B)persons who have been charged in an indictment or information with a crime; and

(C)other persons whose DNA samples are collected under applicable legal authorities, provided that DNA samples that are voluntarily submitted solely for elimination purposes shall not be included in the National DNA Index System;

(2)analyses of DNA samples recovered from crime scenes;

(3)analyses of DNA samples recovered from unidentified human remains; and

(4)analyses of DNA samples voluntarily contributed from relatives of missing persons.

(b)Information The index described in subsection

(a)shall include only information on DNA identification records and DNA analyses that are—

(1)based on analyses performed by or on behalf of a criminal justice agency (or the Secretary of Defense in accordance with section 1565 of title 10) in accordance with publicly available standards that satisfy or exceed the guidelines for a quality assurance program for DNA analysis, issued by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 12591 of this title;

(2)prepared by—

(A)laboratories that—

(i)have been accredited by a nonprofit professional association of persons actively involved in forensic science that is nationally recognized within the forensic science community; and

(ii)undergo external audits, not less than once every 2 years, that demonstrate compliance with standards established by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; or

(B)criminal justice agencies using Rapid DNA instruments approved by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in compliance with the standards and procedures issued by the Director under section 12591(a)(5) of this title; and

(3)maintained by Federal, State, and local criminal justice agencies (or the Secretary of Defense in accordance with section 1565 of title 10) pursuant to rules that allow disclosure of stored DNA samples and DNA analyses only—

(A)to criminal justice agencies for law enforcement identification purposes;

(B)in judicial proceedings, if otherwise admissible pursuant to applicable statutes or rules;

(C)for criminal defense purposes, to a defendant, who shall have access to samples and analyses performed in connection with the case in which such defendant is charged; or

(D)if personally identifiable information is removed, for a population statistics database, for identification research and protocol development purposes, or for quality control purposes.

(c)Failure to comply Access to the index established by this section is subject to cancellation if the quality control and privacy requirements described in subsection

(b)are not met.

(d)Expungement of records

(1)By Director

(A)The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall promptly expunge from the index described in subsection

(a)the DNA analysis of a person included in the index—

(i)on the basis of conviction for a qualifying Federal offense or a qualifying District of Columbia offense (as determined under sections 40702 and 40703 of this title, respectively), if the Director receives, for each conviction of the person of a qualifying offense, a certified copy of a final court order establishing that such conviction has been overturned; or

(ii)on the basis of an arrest under the authority of the United States, if the Attorney General receives, for each charge against the person on the basis of which the analysis was or could have been included in the index, a certified copy of a final court order establishing that such charge has been dismissed or has resulted in an acquittal or that no charge was filed within the applicable time period.

(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term “qualifying offense” means any of the following offenses:

(i)A qualifying Federal offense, as determined under section 40702 of this title.

(ii)A qualifying District of Columbia offense, as determined under section 40703 of this title.

(iii)A qualifying military offense, as determined under section 1565 of title 10.

(C)For purposes of subparagraph (A), a court order is not “final” if time remains for an appeal or application for discretionary review with respect to the order.

(2)By States

(A)As a condition of access to the index described in subsection (a), a State shall promptly expunge from that index the DNA analysis of a person included in the index by that State if—

(i)the responsible agency or official of that State receives, for each conviction of the person of an offense on the basis of which that analysis was or could have been included in the index, a certified copy of a final court order establishing that such conviction has been overturned; or

(ii)the person has not been convicted of an offense on the basis of which that analysis was or could have been included in the index, and the responsible agency or official of that State receives, for each charge against the person on the basis of which the analysis was or could have been included in the index, a certified copy of a final court order establishing that such charge has been dismissed or has resulted in an acquittal or that no charge was filed within the applicable time period.

(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), a court order is not “final” if time remains for an appeal or application for discretionary review with respect to the order.

(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXI, § 210304, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2069; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(1) [title I, § 120], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1501A–23; Pub. L. 106–546, § 6(b), Dec. 19, 2000, 114 Stat. 2733; Pub. L. 108–405, title II, § 203(a), (d), title III, § 302, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2269, 2270, 2272; Pub. L. 109–162, title X, § 1002, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3084; Pub. L. 115–50, § 2(b), Aug. 18, 2017, 131 Stat. 1001.)

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