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Public Act 92-0459
HB2228 Enrolled LRB9206812ARsb
AN ACT concerning criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
changing Section 33-5 as follows:
(720 ILCS 5/33-5)
Sec. 33-5. Preservation of evidence Chain of custody.
(a) It is unlawful for a law enforcement agency or an
agent acting on behalf of the law enforcement agency State's
Attorney, an Assistant State's Attorney, or other employee of
the Office of the State's Attorney or for a peace officer or
other employee of a law enforcement agency to intentionally
fail to comply with the provisions of subsection (a) of
Section 116-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963.
(b) Sentence. A person who violates this Section is
guilty of a Class 4 felony.
(c) For purposes of this Section, "law enforcement
agency" has the meaning ascribed to it in subsection (e) of
Section 116-4 clause (a)(4) of Section 107-4 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure of 1963.
(Source: P.A. 91-871, eff. 1-1-01.)
Section 10. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
amended by changing Section 116-4 as follows:
(725 ILCS 5/116-4)
Sec. 116-4. Preservation of evidence for forensic testing
Chain of custody.
(a) Before or after the trial in a prosecution for a
violation of Section 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16
of the Criminal Code of 1961 or in a prosecution for an
offense defined in Article 9 of that Code, or in a
prosecution for an attempt in violation of Section 8-4 of
that Code of any of the above-enumerated offenses, unless
otherwise provided herein under subsection (b) or (c), a law
enforcement agency or an agent acting on behalf of the law
enforcement agency the law enforcement agency and the State's
Attorney's Office shall preserve, subject to a continuous
chain of custody, any physical evidence in their possession
or control that is reasonably likely to contain forensic
evidence, including, but not limited to, fingerprints or
biological material secured in relation to a trial and with
sufficient official documentation to locate that evidence.
(b) After a trial resulting in a judgment of conviction
is entered, the evidence shall either be impounded with the
Clerk of the Circuit Court or shall be securely retained by a
law enforcement agency. Retention shall be permanent in cases
where a sentence of death is imposed. Retention shall be
until the completion of the sentence, including the period
of mandatory supervised release for the offense, or January
1, 2006, whichever is later, for any conviction for an
offense or an attempt of an offense defined in Article 9 of
the Criminal Code of 1961 or in Section 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or for:
(1) Permanent following any conviction for an
offense defined in Article 9 of the Criminal Code of
1961.
(2) For 25 years following any conviction for a
violation of Section 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or
12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
(3) For 7 years following any conviction for any
other felony for which the defendant's genetic profile
may be taken by a law enforcement agency and submitted
for comparison in a forensic DNA database for unsolved
offenses.
(c) After a judgment of conviction is entered, the
State's Attorney or law enforcement agency required to retain
having custody of evidence described in subsection (a) may
petition the court with notice to the defendant or, in cases
where the defendant has died, his estate, his attorney of
record, or an attorney appointed for that purpose by the
court for entry of an order allowing it to dispose of
evidence if, after a hearing, the court determines by a
preponderance of the evidence that:
(1) it has no significant value for forensic
science analysis and should must be returned to its
rightful owner, destroyed, used for training purposes, or
as otherwise provided by law; or
(2) it has no significant value for forensic
science analysis and is of a size, bulk, or physical
character not usually retained by the law enforcement
agency and cannot practicably be retained by the law
enforcement agency; or.
(3) there no longer exists a reasonable basis to
require the preservation of the evidence because of the
death of the defendant; however, this paragraph (3) does
not apply if a sentence of death was imposed.
(d) The court may order the disposition of the evidence
if the defendant is allowed the opportunity to take
reasonable measures to remove or preserve portions of the
evidence in question for future testing.
(d-5) Any order allowing the disposition of evidence
pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) shall be a final and
appealable order. No evidence shall be disposed of until 30
days after the order is entered, and if a notice of appeal is
filed, no evidence shall be disposed of until the mandate has
been received by the circuit court from the appellate court.
(d-10) All records documenting the possession, control,
storage, and destruction of evidence and all police reports,
evidence control or inventory records, and other reports
cited in this Section, including computer records, must be
retained for as long as the evidence exists and may not be
disposed of without the approval of the Local Records
Commission.
(e) In for purposes of this Section, "law enforcement
agency" includes any of the following or an agent acting on
behalf of any of the following: a municipal police
department, county sheriff's office, any prosecuting
authority, the Department of State Police, or any other
State, university, county, federal, or municipal police unit
or police force.
"Biological material" includes, but is not limited to,
any blood, hair, saliva, or semen from which genetic marker
groupings may be obtained. has the meaning ascribed to it in
clause (a)(4) of Section 107-4 of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 91-871, eff. 1-1-01.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
Passed in the General Assembly May 30, 2001.
Approved August 22, 2001.
Effective August 22, 2001.
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