19.2-310.2 - Blood, saliva, or tissue sample required for DNA analysis upon conviction of a felony; fee.
§ 19.2-310.2. Blood, saliva, or tissue sample required for DNA analysis uponconviction of a felony; fee.
A. Every person convicted of a felony on or after July 1, 1990, and everyperson convicted of a felony offense under Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) ofChapter 4 of Title 18.2 who was incarcerated on July 1, 1989, shall have asample of his blood, saliva or tissue taken for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)analysis to determine identification characteristics specific to the person.If a sample has been previously taken from the person as indicated by theLocal Inmate Data System (LIDS), no additional sample shall be taken. TheDepartment of Forensic Science shall provide to LIDS the most currentinformation submitted to the DNA data bank on a weekly basis and shall removefrom LIDS and the data bank persons no longer eligible to be in the databank. A fee of $25 shall be charged for the withdrawal of this sample. Thefee shall be taxed as part of the costs of the criminal case resulting in thefelony conviction and one-half of the fee shall be paid into the general fundof the locality where the sample was taken and one-half of the fee shall bepaid into the general fund of the state treasury. This fee shall only betaxed one time regardless of the number of samples taken. The assessmentprovided for herein shall be in addition to any other fees prescribed by law.The analysis shall be performed by the Department of Forensic Science orother entity designated by the Department. The identification characteristicsof the profile resulting from the DNA analysis shall be stored and maintainedby the Department in a DNA data bank and shall be made available only asprovided in § 19.2-310.5.
B. After July 1, 1990, the blood, saliva or tissue sample shall be takenprior to release from custody. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 53.1-159,any person convicted of a felony who is in custody after July 1, 1990, shallprovide a blood, saliva or tissue sample prior to his release. Every personso convicted after July 1, 1990, who is not sentenced to a term ofconfinement shall provide a blood, saliva or tissue sample as a condition ofsuch sentence. A person required under this section to submit a sample forDNA analysis is not relieved from this requirement regardless of whether noblood, saliva, or tissue sample has been taken from the person or, if asample has been taken, whether the sample or the results from the analysis ofa sample cannot be found in the DNA data bank maintained by the Department ofForensic Science.
C. A collection or placement of a sample for DNA analysis that was taken orretained in good faith does not invalidate the sample's use in the data bankpursuant to the provisions of this article. The detention, arrest, orconviction of a person based upon a data bank match or data bank informationis not invalidated if it is determined that the sample was obtained, placed,or retained in the data bank in good faith, or if the conviction or juvenileadjudication that resulted in the collection of the DNA sample wassubsequently vacated or otherwise altered in any future proceeding, includingbut not limited to post-trial or post-fact-finding motions, appeals, orcollateral attacks.
D. The Virginia Department of Corrections and the Department of ForensicScience shall, on a quarterly basis, compare databases of offenders under thecustody or supervision of the Department of Corrections with the DNA databank of the Department of Forensic Science. The Virginia Department ofCorrections shall require a DNA sample of those offenders under its custodyor supervision if they are not identified in the DNA data bank.
E. Each community-based probation services agency established pursuant to §9.1-174 shall determine by reviewing the Local Inmate Data System upon intakeand again prior to discharge whether a blood, saliva, or tissue sample hasbeen taken for DNA analysis for each offender required to submit a samplepursuant to this section and, if no sample has been taken, require anoffender to submit a sample for DNA analysis.
F. The sheriff or regional jailer shall determine by reviewing the LocalInmate Data System upon intake and again prior to release whether a blood,saliva, or tissue sample has been taken for DNA analysis for each offenderrequired to submit a sample pursuant to this section and, if no sample hasbeen taken, require an offender to submit a sample for DNA analysis.
(1990, c. 669; 1993, c. 33; 1996, cc. 154, 952; 1998, c. 280; 2002, cc. 54,753, 773; 2005, cc. 868, 881; 2007, c. 528.)