22-3437. Forensic examinations; admissibility; certification; notices of proffer and objection to admission.
22-3437
22-3437. Forensic examinations; admissibility;certification; notices of proffer and objection to admission.(1) In any hearing or trial, a report concerning forensicexaminations and certificate of forensic examination executed pursuant to thissection shall be admissible in evidence if the report andcertificate are prepared and attested by a criminalist or other employee of theKansas bureau of investigation, Kansas highway patrol or any laboratory of thefederal bureau of investigation, federal postal inspection service, federalbureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms or federal drug enforcementadministration. If the examination involves a breath test foralcohol content, the report must also be admissible pursuant toK.S.A. 8-1001, and amendments thereto, and beconducted bya law enforcement officer or other person who is certifiedby the department of health and environment as a breath test operator asprovided by K.S.A. 65-1,107 et seq., and amendments thereto.
(2) Upon the request of any law enforcement agency,such person as provided in subsection (1) performing the analysis shall preparea certificate. Such person shall sign the certificate under oath and shallinclude in the certificate an attestationas to the result of the analysis. The presentation of this certificate to acourt by any party to a proceeding shall be evidence that all of therequirements and provisions of this section have been complied with. Thiscertificate shall be supported by a written declaration pursuant to K.S.A.53-601, and amendments thereto, or shall be sworn to before anotary publicor other person empowered by law to take oaths and shall contain a statementestablishing the following: The type of analysis performed; the resultachieved; any conclusions reached based upon that result;that the subscriber is the person who performed the analysis and made theconclusions; the subscriber's training or experience to perform the analysis;the nature and condition of the equipment used; and the certification andfoundation requirements for admissibility of breath test results, whenappropriate. When properly executed, the certificate shall, subject to theprovisions of subsection (3) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, beadmissible evidence of the results of the forensic examination of the samplesor evidence submitted for analysis and the court shall take judicial notice ofthe signature of the person performing the analysis and of the fact that suchperson is that person who performed the analysis.
(3) Whenever a party intends to proffer in a criminal or civil proceeding, acertificate executed pursuant to this section, notice of an intent to profferthat certificate and the reports relating to the analysis in question,including a copy of the certificate, shall be conveyed to the opposing party orparties atleast 20 days before the beginning of ahearing where the proffer will be used. An opposing party who intends toobject to the admission into evidence of a certificate shall give notice ofobjection and the grounds for the objection within 10 days upon receiving theadversary's notice of intent to proffer the certificate. Whenever a notice ofobjection is filed, admissibility of the certificate shall be determined notlater than two days before the beginning of the trial. A proffered certificateshall be admitted in evidence unless it appears from the notice of objectionand grounds for that objection that the conclusions of the certificate,including the composition, quality or quantity of the substance submitted tothe laboratory for analysis or the alcohol content of a blood or breath samplewill be contested at trial. A failure to comply with the time limitationsregarding the notice of objection required by this section shall constitute awaiver of any objections to the admission of the certificate. The timelimitations set forth in this section may be extended upon a showing of goodcause.
History: L. 1993, ch. 261, § 3;L. 1996, ch. 224, § 3;L. 2002, ch. 163, § 4;L. 2003, ch. 70, § 1;L. 2008, ch. 170, § 5; July 1.