Vermont Statutes Title 20 Sec. 1940
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 20 Sec. 1940
- CODIS: means the FBI's national DNA identification index system that allows storage and exchange of DNA records submitted by state and local forensic DNA laboratories. See
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Department: means the Department of Public Safety. See
- Designated crime: means any of the following offenses:
- DNA: means deoxyribonucleic acid. See
- DNA record: means DNA sample identification information stored in the State DNA database or CODIS. See
- DNA sample: means a forensic unknown tissue sample or a tissue sample provided by any person convicted of a designated crime. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Forensic unknown sample: means an unidentified tissue sample gathered in connection with a criminal investigation. See
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Laboratory: means the Department of Public Safety Forensic Laboratory. See
- Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
- State DNA data bank: means the repository of DNA samples collected and maintained under the provisions of this subchapter. See
- State DNA database: means the Laboratory DNA identification record system. See
§ 1940. Expungement of records and destruction of samples
(a) In accordance with procedures set forth in subsection (b) of this section, the Department shall destroy the DNA sample and any records of a person related to the sample that were taken in connection with a particular alleged designated crime in either of the following circumstances:
(1) A person’s conviction related to an incident that caused the DNA sample to be taken is reversed, and the case is dismissed.
(2) The person is granted a full pardon related to an incident that caused the DNA sample to be taken.
(b) If any of the circumstances in subsection (a) of this section occur, the court with jurisdiction or, as the case may be, the Governor shall so notify the Department, and the person’s DNA record in the State DNA database and CODIS and the person’s DNA sample in the State DNA data bank shall be removed and destroyed. The Laboratory shall purge the DNA record and all other identifiable information from the State DNA database and CODIS and destroy the DNA sample stored in the State DNA data bank. If the person has more than one entry in the State DNA database, CODIS, or the State DNA data bank, only the entry related to the dismissed case shall be deleted. The Department shall notify the person upon completing its responsibilities under this subsection, by mail addressed to the person’s last known address.
(c) If the identity of the subject of a forensic unknown sample becomes known and that subject is excluded as a suspect in the case, the sample record shall be removed from the State DNA database upon the conclusion of the criminal investigation and finalization of any criminal prosecution.
(d) If a DNA sample from the State DNA database, CODIS, or the State DNA data bank is matched to another DNA sample during the course of a criminal investigation, the record of the match shall not be expunged even if the sample itself is expunged in accordance with the provisions of this section. If a match has been made and any of the circumstances in subsection (a) of this section occur, the Department may confirm the match prior to expunging the sample. (Added 1997, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 29, 1998; amended 2005, No. 83, § 9, eff. June 28, 2005; 2009, No. 1, § 22, eff. March 4, 2009; 2009, No. 1, § 25, eff. July 1, 2011; 2015, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 23, 2016; 2023, No. 46, § 22, eff. June 5, 2023.)