[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4980 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4980

 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to DNA testing of 
                   prisoners, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2000

Mr. Sensenbrenner introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to DNA testing of 
                   prisoners, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Scientific Certainty in Sentencing 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING.

    (a) In General.--Part II of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after chapter 228 the following:

              ``CHAPTER 228A--POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING

``Sec.
``3600. DNA testing.
``Sec. 3600. DNA testing
    ``(a) Motion.--An individual serving a term of imprisonment for 
conviction in a court of the United States of a criminal offense 
(referred to in this section as the `applicant') may make a written 
motion to the court that entered the judgment of conviction for the 
performance of forensic DNA testing on specified evidence, if that 
evidence--
            ``(1) was secured in relation to the investigation or 
        prosecution that resulted in the conviction of the applicant; 
        and
            ``(2) was not subject to the DNA testing requested because 
        the technology for such testing was not available to the 
        applicant at the time of trial or at the time of any earlier 
        test.
    ``(b) Notice to the Government.--Upon receipt of a motion under 
subsection (a), the court shall notify the Government and shall afford 
the Government an opportunity to respond to the motion.
    ``(c) Requirements.--The court shall grant the motion of the 
applicant if the court finds that the test, if favorable to the 
applicant, would provide evidence that--
            ``(1) had such evidence been before the finder of fact at 
        the trial of the criminal case, no reasonable finder of fact 
        would have found the applicant guilty beyond a reasonable 
        doubt; or
            ``(2) would have resulted in a mandatory reduction in the 
        sentence of the applicant.
    ``(d) Testing Procedures.--
            ``(1) Selection of laboratory.--Any DNA testing ordered 
        under this section shall be conducted by--
                    ``(A) a laboratory mutually selected by the 
                Government and the applicant; or
                    ``(B) if the Government and the applicant are 
                unable to agree on a laboratory, a laboratory selected 
                by the court that ordered the testing.
            ``(2) Costs.--The costs of any testing ordered under this 
        section shall be paid--
                    ``(A) by the applicant; or
                    ``(B) in the case of an applicant who is indigent, 
                by the court.
    ``(e) Effect of Test Results.--If the results of the test are 
favorable to the applicant, the court shall make such order respecting 
the conviction or sentence of the defendant as the court determines is 
appropriate under all the circumstances.
    ``(f) Preservation of Biological Material.--The Government and the 
court shall take such steps as are reasonably necessary to ensure that 
any biological material relating to the trial of a criminal defendant 
that is in the possession of either is preserved throughout the time an 
individual is incarcerated pursuant to conviction at that trial.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for part II of title 
18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to chapter 228 the following new item:

``228A. Post-conviction DNA testing................3800''.
                                 <all>