Bill Text: VA HB518 | 2014 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Certificates of analysis admitted into evidence; electronic signature.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-03-27 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0328) [HB518 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2014-HB518-Prefiled.html
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14101377D Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §§18.2-268.7 and 19.2-187 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows: §18.2-268.7. Transmission of blood test samples; use as evidence. A. Upon receipt of a blood sample forwarded to the Department
for analysis pursuant to §18.2-268.6, the Department shall have it examined
for its alcohol or drug or both alcohol and drug content and the Director shall
execute a certificate of analysis indicating the name of the accused; the date,
time and by whom the blood sample was received and examined; a statement that
the seal on the vial had not been broken or otherwise tampered with; a
statement that the container and vial were provided or approved by the
Department and that the vial was one to which the completed withdrawal
certificate was attached; and a statement of the sample's alcohol or drug or
both alcohol and drug content. The Director shall remove the withdrawal
certificate from the vial B. After completion of the analysis, the Department shall preserve the remainder of the blood until at least 90 days have lapsed from the date the blood was drawn. During this 90-day period, the accused may, by motion filed before the court in which the charge will be heard, with notice to the Department, request an order directing the Department to transmit the remainder of the blood sample to an independent laboratory retained by the accused for analysis. The Department shall destroy the remainder of the blood sample if no notice of a motion to transmit the remaining blood sample is received during the 90-day period. C. When a blood sample taken in accordance with the provisions of §§18.2-268.2 through 18.2-268.6 is forwarded for analysis to the Department, a report of the test results shall be filed in that office. Upon proper identification of the certificate of withdrawal, the certificate of analysis, with the withdrawal certificate attached, shall, when attested by the Director, be admissible in any court as evidence of the facts therein stated and of the results of such analysis (i) in any criminal proceeding, provided the requirements of subsection A of §19.2-187.1 have been satisfied and the accused has not objected to the admission of the certificate pursuant to subsection B of §19.2-187.1, or (ii) in any civil proceeding. On motion of the accused, the report of analysis prepared for the remaining blood sample shall be admissible in evidence provided the report is duly attested by a person performing such analysis and the independent laboratory that performed the analysis is accredited or certified to conduct forensic blood alcohol/drug testing by one or more of the following bodies: American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB); College of American Pathologists (CAP); United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); or American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT). Upon request of the person whose blood was analyzed, the test results shall be made available to him. The Director may delegate or assign these duties to an employee of the Department. §19.2-187. Admission into evidence of certain certificates of analysis. In any hearing or trial of any criminal offense or in any proceeding brought pursuant to Chapter 22.1 (§19.2-386.1 et seq.), a certificate of analysis of a person performing an analysis or examination, duly attested by such person, shall be admissible in evidence as evidence of the facts therein stated and the results of the analysis or examination referred to therein, provided (i) the certificate of analysis is filed with the clerk of the court hearing the case at least seven days prior to the proceeding if the attorney for the Commonwealth intends to offer it into evidence in a preliminary hearing or the accused intends to offer it into evidence in any hearing or trial, or (ii) the requirements of subsection A of §19.2-187.1 have been satisfied and the accused has not objected to the admission of the certificate pursuant to subsection B of §19.2-187.1, when any such analysis or examination is performed in any laboratory operated by the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services or the Department of Forensic Science or authorized by such Department to conduct such analysis or examination, or performed by a person licensed by the Department of Forensic Science pursuant to §18.2-268.9 or 46.2-341.26:9 to conduct such analysis or examination, or performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the federal Postal Inspection Service, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Forensic Document Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or the U.S. Secret Service Laboratory. In a hearing or trial in which the provisions of subsection A of §19.2-187.1 do not apply, a copy of such certificate shall be mailed or delivered by the clerk or attorney for the Commonwealth to counsel of record for the accused at no charge at least seven days prior to the hearing or trial upon request made by such counsel to the clerk with notice of the request to the attorney for the Commonwealth. The request to the clerk shall be on a form prescribed by the Supreme Court and filed with the clerk at least 10 days prior to the hearing or trial. In the event that a request for a copy of a certificate is filed with the clerk with respect to a case that is not yet before the court, the clerk shall advise the requester that he must resubmit the request at such time as the case is properly before the court in order for such request to be effective. If, upon proper request made by counsel of record for the accused, a copy of such certificate is not mailed or delivered by the clerk or attorney for the Commonwealth to counsel of record for the accused in a timely manner in accordance with this section, the accused shall be entitled to continue the hearing or trial. The certificate of analysis of any examination conducted by the Department of Forensic Science relating to a controlled substance, marijuana, or synthetic cannabinoids as defined in §18.2-248.1:1 shall be mailed or forwarded by personnel of the Department of Forensic Science to the attorney for the Commonwealth of the jurisdiction where such offense may be heard. The attorney for the Commonwealth shall acknowledge receipt of the certificate on forms provided by the laboratory. Any such certificate of analysis purporting to be signed, either by hand or by electronic
means, by any such person shall be admissible as evidence in
such hearing or trial without any proof of the seal or signature or of the
official character of the person whose name is signed to it. The attestation signature of a
person performing the analysis or examination may be signed either by hand or by electronic means. For the purposes of this section and §§19.2-187.01, 19.2-187.1, and 19.2-187.2, the term "certificate of analysis" includes reports of analysis and results of laboratory examination. |
