LD 1907
pg. 3
Page 2 of 10 An Act To Amend the Law Governing DNA Testing Page 4 of 10
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LR 2904
Item 1

 
3. Counsel; fees. If the court finds that the person filing
a motion under section 2137 petitioner is indigent, the court may
appoint counsel for the person petitioner at any time during the
proceedings under this chapter. If the petitioner has retained
private pro bono counsel, including, but not limited to, counsel
from a nonprofit organization that represents indigent persons,
the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs at the
conclusion of the litigation.

 
4. Proof required. The court shall order DNA analysis if a
person authorized under section 2137 petitioner presents prima
facie evidence that:

 
A. The evidence sought to be analyzed is material to the
issue of the person's identity as the perpetrator of, or
accomplice to, the crime that resulted in the conviction
petitioner would not have been convicted, or would have
received a lesser sentence, if favorable results had been
obtained through DNA analysis at the time of the original
prosecution;

 
B. A sample of the evidence is available for DNA analysis;

 
C. The evidence to be tested has been subject to a chain of
custody sufficient to establish that it has not been
substituted, tampered with, replaced or altered in a
material way;

 
D. The evidence was not previously subjected to DNA
analysis or, if previously analyzed, will be subject to DNA
analysis technology that was not available when the person
petitioner was convicted; and

 
E. The identity of the person petitioner as the perpetrator
of the crime that resulted in the conviction was at issue
during the person's petitioner's trial.; and

 
F.__The application for testing is being made for the
purpose of demonstrating innocence or the appropriateness of
a lesser sentence and not to delay unreasonably the
execution of sentence or administration of justice.

 
5. Court finding; analysis ordered. The court shall state
its findings of fact on the record or shall make written findings
of fact supporting its decision to grant or deny a motion to
order DNA analysis. If the court grants a motion for DNA
analysis under this section, the crime lab shall perform DNA
analysis on the identified evidence and on a DNA sample obtained
from the person.


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