House File 501 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 501 BY JONES A BILL FOR An Act relating to the preservation of biological evidence 1 collected in relation to a criminal investigation, testimony 2 by an incarcerated witness, and postconviction access to 3 investigative files in a criminal case. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh
H.F. 501 DIVISION I 1 PRESERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS 2 Section 1. Section 81.1, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 3 following new subsections: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 01. Agency means any governmental or 5 public entity within the state and its officials or employees 6 including but not limited to law enforcement agencies, 7 county attorney offices, courts, public hospitals, the state 8 criminalistics laboratory or similar qualified laboratory, and 9 any other entity or individual charged with the collection, 10 storage, or retrieval of biological evidence. 11 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. Biological evidence means 12 any item that contains blood, semen, hair, saliva, skin 13 tissue, fingernail scrapings, bone, bodily fluids, or other 14 identifiable biological material that was collected as part 15 of a criminal investigation or may reasonably be used to 16 incriminate or exculpate any person for the offense. This 17 applies to material that is cataloged separately or is present 18 on other evidence including but not limited to clothing, 19 ligatures, bedding or other household materials, drinking cups, 20 or cigarettes. 21 NEW SUBSECTION . 1B. Custody means a person who has 22 been arrested, is currently incarcerated, has been civilly 23 committed, is on parole or probation, or who is subject to sex 24 offender registration requirements. 25 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 81.5A Preservation of biological 26 evidence. 27 1. Except as provided in section 709.10 concerning the 28 gathering and preservation of sexual abuse evidence collection 29 kits, all biological evidence collected involving a felony or 30 aggravated misdemeanor in an agencys possession or control 31 shall be preserved and stored by the agency as follows: 32 a. For cases resulting in a conviction or a deferred 33 judgment, biological evidence shall be retained for the latter 34 of either of the following: 35 -1- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 1/ 16
H.F. 501 (1) Twenty years from the date the defendants conviction 1 becomes final. 2 (2) The period of time that the defendant or a codefendant 3 remains in custody. 4 b. Except as provided in section 81.9, for cases not 5 resulting in a conviction, biological evidence shall be 6 preserved and stored until the expiration of the statute of 7 limitations for the alleged offense. 8 c. A criminal or juvenile justice agency, as defined in 9 section 692.1, shall retain biological evidence as provided in 10 section 81.13, subsection 2. 11 2. The agency shall retain biological evidence in an amount 12 and a manner sufficient to develop a DNA profile from the 13 biological material contained in or included on the evidence 14 and in a manner reasonably calculated to prevent contamination 15 or degradation of any biological evidence that might be 16 present, subject to a continuous chain of custody, and securely 17 retained with sufficient official documentation to locate the 18 evidence. 19 3. All records documenting the possession, control, 20 storage, and destruction of biological evidence related to a 21 criminal investigation or prosecution of an offense referenced 22 in this section shall be retained. 23 4. Upon written request by a defendant, the agency shall 24 prepare an inventory of biological evidence relevant to the 25 defendants case that is in the custody of the agency. 26 5. If evidence was destroyed in accordance with section 27 81.5B through a court order or other written directive, 28 the agency shall provide the defendant with a copy of the 29 documentation showing adherence with this section, the court 30 order, or the written directive. 31 6. The agency shall not be required to preserve physical 32 evidence on which biological evidence is found that is of such 33 a size, bulk, or physical character as to render retention 34 impracticable. When such retention is impracticable, a portion 35 -2- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 2/ 16
H.F. 501 of the physical evidence likely to contain biological evidence 1 shall be removed in a quantity sufficient to permit future DNA 2 testing before returning or disposing of the remainder of the 3 physical evidence. 4 7. Biological evidence shall not be destroyed when 5 a codefendant, convicted of the same crime, remains in 6 custody, and the agency shall preserve the evidence until all 7 codefendants are released from custody. 8 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 81.5B Destruction of biological 9 evidence. 10 Except as provided in section 709.10 concerning the 11 gathering and preservation of sexual abuse evidence collection 12 kits, an agency may destroy or dispose of DNA samples before 13 the period required in section 81.5A expires if all of the 14 following apply: 15 1. No other provision of federal or state law requires the 16 agency to preserve the biological evidence. 17 2. a. The agency sends a notice of intent to dispose 18 of biological evidence by certified mail, return receipt 19 requested, or by a delivery service that provides proof of 20 delivery, to the following: 21 (1) Any victim as defined in section 915.10. 22 (2) Any individual who remains in custody based on a 23 criminal conviction related to the biological evidence. 24 (3) The private attorney or public defender of record for 25 each individual related to the evidence. 26 (4) If applicable, the prosecuting agency responsible for 27 the prosecution of each individual relating to the biological 28 evidence. 29 (5) If applicable, the office of the attorney general. 30 b. The notification of intent to dispose of biological 31 evidence shall include that the evidence may be destroyed one 32 hundred eighty days after the date on which the agency received 33 proof of delivery of the notice unless the notified party does 34 either of the following: 35 -3- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 3/ 16
H.F. 501 (1) Files an application for DNA profiling under section 1 81.11. 2 (2) Submits a written request to the agency that the 3 biological evidence be retained. 4 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 81.5C Noncompliance with preservation 5 requirements. 6 1. Following a request to produce biological evidence, an 7 agency that is unable to produce biological evidence that is 8 required to be preserved under section 81.5A shall provide an 9 affidavit describing the efforts taken to locate the biological 10 evidence and affirm that the biological evidence could not be 11 located. 12 2. If the court finds that biological evidence was not 13 preserved in accordance with section 81.5A, the court may 14 conduct a hearing and impose appropriate sanctions and order 15 appropriate remedies. 16 DIVISION II 17 INCARCERATED WITNESS TESTIMONY 18 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 804A.1 Definitions. 19 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 20 requires: 21 1. Benefit means any plea bargain, bail consideration, 22 reduction or modification of sentence, or any other leniency, 23 immunity, financial payment, reward, or amelioration of current 24 or future conditions of a sentence that is requested, provided, 25 or will be provided in the future in connection with, or in 26 exchange for, the testimony of a incarcerated witness. 27 2. Incarcerated witness means a person who provides 28 testimony, or who intends to provide testimony, during a 29 criminal prosecution regarding statements made by a suspect or 30 defendant while both the witness and the suspect or defendant 31 were incarcerated, and who has requested, has been offered, or 32 may in the future receive a benefit in connection with such 33 testimony. Incarcerated witness does not include a person who 34 is a confidential informant, codefendant, percipient witness, 35 -4- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 4/ 16
H.F. 501 accomplice, or coconspirator in the criminal prosecution. 1 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 804A.2 Transparency in the use of 2 incarcerated witness testimony. 3 1. In any criminal prosecution, not less than ninety days 4 prior to a trial, the prosecuting attorney shall disclose its 5 intent to introduce the testimony of an incarcerated witness 6 regarding statements made by a suspect or defendant, while such 7 witness and suspect or defendant were both incarcerated. The 8 prosecuting attorney shall provide to the defense all of the 9 following: 10 a. The criminal history of the incarcerated witness, 11 including any pending or dismissed criminal charges. 12 b. The incarcerated witnesss cooperation agreement and any 13 benefit that has been requested by, provided to, or will be 14 provided in the future to the incarcerated witness. 15 c. The contents of any statement allegedly given by the 16 suspect or defendant to the incarcerated witness and the 17 contents of any statement given by the incarcerated witness 18 to law enforcement regarding the statements allegedly made by 19 the suspect or defendant, including the time and place such 20 statements were given. 21 d. Any information regarding the incarcerated witness 22 recanting testimony or statements, including the time and place 23 of the recantation, the nature of the recantation, and the 24 names of the people present at the recantation. 25 e. Any information concerning other criminal cases in 26 which the testimony of the incarcerated witness was introduced 27 or was intended to be introduced by a prosecuting attorney 28 regarding statements made by a suspect or defendant, including 29 any cooperation agreement and any benefit that the incarcerated 30 witness received in such case. 31 2. The court may permit the prosecuting attorney to 32 comply with the provisions of this section after the time 33 period provided in subsection 1 if the court finds that the 34 incarcerated witness was not known or the information described 35 -5- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 5/ 16
H.F. 501 in subsection 1 could not be discovered or obtained by the 1 prosecuting attorney exercising due diligence within the time 2 period. 3 3. If the court finds that disclosing the information 4 described in subsection 1 is likely to cause bodily harm to the 5 incarcerated witness, the court may do any of the following: 6 a. Order that such evidence be viewed only by the defense 7 counsel and not by the defendant or others. 8 b. Issue a protective order. 9 4. If the testimony of an incarcerated witness is admitted 10 into evidence, the jury shall be instructed that such testimony 11 was provided by an incarcerated witness and informed of any 12 benefit that has been requested by, provided to, or will 13 be provided in the future to the incarcerated witness in 14 connection with providing such testimony. 15 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 804A.3 Pretrial hearing 16 incarcerated witness testimony. 17 1. In a criminal prosecution in which the prosecuting 18 attorney intends to introduce the testimony of an incarcerated 19 witness, upon motion of the defendant, the court shall conduct 20 a pretrial hearing to determine whether the incarcerated 21 witnesss testimony exhibits reliability and is admissible 22 based on the following factors: 23 a. The extent to which the incarcerated witnesss testimony 24 is confirmed by other evidence. 25 b. The specificity of the testimony. 26 c. The extent to which the testimony contains details that 27 would be known only by the perpetrator of the offense. 28 d. The extent to which the details of the testimony could be 29 obtained from a source other than the suspect or defendant. 30 e. The circumstances under which the incarcerated witness 31 provided the information to the prosecuting attorney or a law 32 enforcement officer, including whether the incarcerated witness 33 was responding to leading questions. 34 2. If the prosecuting attorney fails to show by a 35 -6- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 6/ 16
H.F. 501 preponderance of the evidence that an incarcerated witnesss 1 testimony is reliable, the court shall exclude the testimony at 2 trial. 3 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 804A.4 Tracking the use of 4 incarcerated witness testimony. 5 1. A prosecuting attorneys office shall maintain a central 6 record containing all of the following: 7 a. Any case in which testimony by an incarcerated 8 witness was introduced or was intended to be introduced by a 9 prosecuting attorney regarding statements made by a suspect or 10 defendant and the substance of such testimony. 11 b. Any benefit that was requested by, provided to, or 12 will be provided in the future to an incarcerated witness in 13 connection with testimony provided by the witness. 14 2. Each prosecuting attorneys office shall forward the 15 information described in subsection 1 to the division of 16 criminal investigation of the department of public safety. The 17 division shall maintain a statewide database containing the 18 information forwarded pursuant to this section. The database 19 shall be accessible only to prosecuting attorneys and shall 20 otherwise remain confidential and not subject to open records 21 requests. 22 3. If an incarcerated witness receives any benefit in 23 connection with offering or providing testimony against a 24 defendant, the prosecuting attorney shall notify any victim 25 connected to the crime for which the witness was incarcerated. 26 DIVISION III 27 POSTCONVICTION ACCESS TO INVESTIGATIVE FILES IN CRIMINAL CASES 28 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 701.13 Postconviction file access 29 discoverable materials. 30 1. For purposes of this section, file means all papers, 31 documents, statements, photographs, or tangible objects in 32 the possession, custody, or control of the state including 33 any results or reports of physical or mental examinations and 34 of scientific tests or experiments made in connection with a 35 -7- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 7/ 16
H.F. 501 particular criminal case. 1 2. Except as provided in subsection 3, a prosecuting 2 attorney, to the extent allowed by law, shall make available to 3 a defendant who has been convicted of a felony or an aggravated 4 misdemeanor, any file in the possession of a law enforcement 5 agency, county attorney, or the attorney general in this state 6 involved in the investigation of any felony or aggravated 7 misdemeanor committed by the defendant relating to the 8 prosecution of the defendant that the defendant was entitled to 9 at the time of the defendants trial. 10 3. In all criminal cases involving a conviction for a felony 11 or an aggravated misdemeanor, all of the following shall apply: 12 a. Except as provided in subsection 4, a defendants 13 previous trial or appellate attorney shall securely retain a 14 copy of the defendants file for seven years after completion 15 or termination of representation of the defendant or until the 16 completion of the defendants term of imprisonment, whichever 17 occurs first. An electronic copy is sufficient only if an 18 entire file can be digitally copied and preserved. 19 b. A defendants file may be maintained by electronic, 20 photographic, or other media provided that printed copies may 21 be produced and the records are readily accessible to the 22 defendants previous trial or appellate attorney. 23 c. A defendants previous trial or appellate attorney shall 24 make available to the defendant or the defendants current 25 attorney the complete file relating to the prosecution of the 26 defendant. 27 4. a. A defendants previous trial or appellate attorney 28 may destroy the defendants file prior to the end of the term 29 of retention described in subsection 3 if the attorney receives 30 written or electronically recorded consent from the defendant. 31 The written or electronic record of the consent to destruction 32 shall be maintained by the attorney for a period of at least 33 six years after completion or termination of representation or 34 the end of the defendants sentence, whichever occurs first. 35 -8- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 8/ 16
H.F. 501 b. Items in the file of monetary value shall not be 1 destroyed. 2 c. A defendants previous trial or appellate attorney 3 destroying a file pursuant to this subsection shall securely 4 store items of intrinsic value or deliver such items to the 5 state unclaimed property agency. 6 d. The file shall be destroyed in a manner that preserves 7 client confidentiality. 8 5. A defendants previous trial or appellate attorney shall 9 not destroy a file pursuant to subsection 4 if the attorney 10 knows or reasonably should know any of the following: 11 a. A legal malpractice claim is pending related to the 12 representation. 13 b. A criminal or other governmental investigation is pending 14 related to the representation. 15 c. A complaint is pending before the Iowa attorney 16 disciplinary board related to the representation. 17 d. Other litigation is pending related to the 18 representation. 19 6. If a prosecuting attorney has a reasonable belief 20 that allowing inspection of any portion of the defendants 21 file by a defendants current attorney would place a person 22 in imminent danger, the prosecuting attorney may submit any 23 portion of the file so identified for inspection by the court. 24 If upon examination of the file the court finds that the 25 submitted portion of the file would not assist the defendant 26 in investigating, preparing, or presenting a motion for any 27 appropriate relief, the court may in its discretion allow the 28 prosecutor to withhold that portion of the file. 29 7. A defendant, the defendants current attorney, 30 investigator, expert, consulting legal counsel, or other agent 31 of the attorney representing the defendant shall not disclose 32 to a third party any file received from the prosecuting 33 attorney under this section that is prohibited from public 34 disclosure unless any of the following apply: 35 -9- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 9/ 16
H.F. 501 a. A court orders the disclosure of the file upon a showing 1 of good cause after notice and a hearing to consider the 2 security and privacy interests of a victim or witness. 3 b. The file has already been publicly disclosed. 4 8. The actual costs involved in the examination or copying 5 of the disclosed file pursuant to this section shall be 6 reimbursed by the defendant. 7 9. This section does not require the retention of any file 8 not otherwise required by law or court order. 9 EXPLANATION 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 11 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 12 This bill relates to the preservation of biological evidence 13 collected in relation to a criminal investigation, testimony 14 by an incarcerated witness, and postconviction access to 15 investigative files in a criminal case. 16 DIVISION I PRESERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE IN 17 CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS. The bill provides that except as 18 provided in Code section 709.10 (gathering and preservation of 19 sexual abuse evidence collection kits), all biological evidence 20 collected involving a felony or aggravated misdemeanor in an 21 agencys possession or control shall be preserved and stored by 22 the agency as follows: for cases resulting in a conviction or 23 a deferred judgment, the biological evidence shall be retained 24 for the latter of 20 years from the date the defendants 25 conviction becomes final or the period of time that the 26 defendant or a codefendant remains in custody; and for cases 27 not resulting in a conviction, the biological evidence shall 28 be preserved and stored until the expiration of the statute of 29 limitations for the alleged offense. The agency shall retain 30 biological evidence in an amount and a manner sufficient to 31 develop a DNA profile from the biological evidence and in 32 a manner reasonably calculated to prevent contamination or 33 degradation of any biological evidence that might be present, 34 subject to a continuous chain of custody, and securely retained 35 -10- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 10/ 16
H.F. 501 with sufficient official documentation to locate the evidence. 1 The bill provides that upon written request by a defendant, 2 the agency shall prepare an inventory of biological evidence 3 relevant to the defendants case that is in the custody of the 4 agency. If biological evidence was destroyed in accordance 5 with the bill through a court order or other written directive, 6 the agency shall provide the defendant with a copy of the 7 documentation showing adherence with the new Code section, the 8 court order, or the written directive. 9 The bill provides that the agency shall not be required to 10 preserve physical evidence on which biological evidence is 11 found that is of such a size, bulk, or physical character as to 12 render retention impracticable. A portion of the biological 13 evidence likely to contain biological evidence shall be removed 14 in a quantity sufficient to permit future DNA testing before 15 returning or disposing of the remainder of the biological 16 evidence. Biological evidence shall not be destroyed when 17 a codefendant, convicted of the same crime, remains in 18 custody, and the agency shall preserve the evidence until all 19 codefendants are released from custody. 20 The bill provides that the agency may destroy or dispose of 21 biological evidence before the period required expires if no 22 other provision of federal or state law requires the agency 23 to preserve the biological evidence and the agency sends a 24 notice of intent to dispose of biological evidence by certified 25 mail, return receipt requested, or by a delivery service that 26 provides proof of delivery to any victim, any individual who 27 remains in custody based on a criminal conviction related 28 to the biological evidence, the private attorney or public 29 defender of record for each individual related to the 30 biological evidence, and, if applicable, the prosecuting agency 31 responsible for the prosecution of each individual relating to 32 the biological evidence and the attorney general. A notified 33 person may file an application for DNA profiling or submit a 34 written request to the agency that the biological evidence be 35 -11- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 11/ 16
H.F. 501 retained. 1 The bill provides that an agency that receives a request 2 to produce biological evidence that the agency is unable to 3 produce shall provide an affidavit describing the efforts 4 taken to locate the biological evidence and affirm that 5 the biological evidence could not be located. If the court 6 finds that biological evidence was not preserved as required 7 under the bill, the court may conduct a hearing and impose 8 appropriate sanctions and order appropriate remedies. 9 The bill defines agency, biological evidence, and 10 custody. 11 DIVISION II INCARCERATED WITNESS TESTIMONY. The 12 bill provides that in any criminal prosecution, not less 13 than 90 days prior to a trial, the prosecuting attorney 14 shall disclose its intent to introduce the testimony of an 15 incarcerated witness regarding statements made by a suspect or 16 defendant, while such witness and suspect or defendant were 17 both incarcerated. The prosecuting attorney shall provide to 18 the defense all of the following: the criminal history of 19 the incarcerated witness, including any pending or dismissed 20 criminal charges; the incarcerated witnesss cooperation 21 agreement and any benefit that has been requested by, provided 22 to, or will be provided in the future to the incarcerated 23 witness; any statement allegedly given by the suspect or 24 defendant to the incarcerated witness and any statement given 25 by the incarcerated witness to law enforcement regarding the 26 statements allegedly made by the suspect or defendant; any 27 information regarding the incarcerated witness recanting 28 testimony or statements; and any information concerning other 29 criminal cases in which the testimony of the incarcerated 30 witness was introduced or was intended to be introduced by a 31 prosecuting attorney. 32 The bill provides that if the court finds that disclosing 33 the information described in the bill is likely to cause bodily 34 harm to the incarcerated witness, the court may order that such 35 -12- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 12/ 16
H.F. 501 evidence be viewed only by the defense counsel or may issue a 1 protective order. If the testimony of an incarcerated witness 2 is admitted into evidence, the jury shall be instructed that 3 such testimony was provided by an incarcerated witness and 4 informed of any benefit that has been requested by, provided 5 to, or will be provided in the future to the incarcerated 6 witness in connection with providing such testimony. 7 The bill provides that in a criminal prosecution in which 8 the prosecuting attorney intends to introduce the testimony 9 of an incarcerated witness, upon motion of the defendant, the 10 court shall conduct a pretrial hearing to determine whether 11 the incarcerated witnesss testimony exhibits reliability and 12 is admissible based on the following factors: the extent to 13 which the incarcerated witnesss testimony is confirmed by 14 other evidence; the specificity of the testimony; the extent 15 to which the testimony contains details that would be known 16 only by the perpetrator of the offense; the extent to which the 17 details of the testimony could be obtained from a source other 18 than the suspect or defendant; and the circumstances under 19 which the incarcerated witness provided the information to the 20 prosecuting attorney or a law enforcement officer. If the 21 prosecuting attorney fails to show by a preponderance of the 22 evidence that an incarcerated witnesss testimony is reliable, 23 the court shall exclude the testimony at trial. 24 The bill requires that each prosecuting attorneys office 25 shall maintain a central record containing any case in which 26 testimony by an incarcerated witness was introduced or was 27 intended to be introduced regarding statements made by a 28 suspect or defendant and the substance of such testimony, and 29 any benefit that was requested by, provided to, or will be 30 provided in the future to an incarcerated witness in connection 31 with testimony provided by the witness. A prosecuting 32 attorneys office shall forward the information to the division 33 of criminal investigation of the department of public safety. 34 The division shall maintain a statewide database containing 35 -13- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 13/ 16
H.F. 501 the information forwarded. The database shall be accessible 1 only to prosecuting attorneys and shall otherwise remain 2 confidential and not subject to open records requests. If 3 an incarcerated witness receives any benefit in connection 4 with offering or providing testimony against a defendant, the 5 prosecuting attorney shall notify any victim connected to the 6 crime for which the witness was incarcerated. 7 The bill defines benefit and incarcerated witness. 8 DIVISION III POSTCONVICTION ACCESS TO INVESTIGATIVE FILES 9 IN A CRIMINAL CASE. The bill provides that the prosecuting 10 attorney, to the extent allowed by law, shall make available 11 to a defendant, who has been convicted of a felony or an 12 aggravated misdemeanor, the file in the possession of any law 13 enforcement agency, county attorney, or the attorney general 14 in this state involved in the investigation of the public 15 offenses committed by the defendant or the prosecution of the 16 defendant which the defendant was entitled to at the time of 17 the defendants trial. If the prosecuting attorney has a 18 reasonable belief that allowing inspection of any portion of 19 the file by the attorney for the defendant would place a person 20 in imminent danger, the prosecuting attorney may submit any 21 portion of the file identified for inspection by the court. If 22 upon examination the court finds that the submitted portion 23 of the file would not assist the defendant in investigating, 24 preparing, or presenting a motion for appropriate relief, the 25 court in its discretion may allow the prosecutor to withhold 26 that portion of the file. 27 The bill provides that in all criminal matters involving 28 a conviction for a felony or aggravated misdemeanor, a 29 defendants previous trial or appellate attorney shall securely 30 retain a copy of the defendants file for seven years after 31 completion or termination of representation of the defendant or 32 until the completion of the defendants term of imprisonment, 33 whichever occurs first. An electronic copy is sufficient only 34 if an entire file can be digitally copied and preserved. A 35 -14- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 14/ 16
H.F. 501 defendants file, except for items of intrinsic value, may be 1 maintained by electronic, photographic, or other media provided 2 that printed copies may be produced and the records are readily 3 accessible to the attorney. A defendants previous trial or 4 appellate attorney shall make available to the defendant or the 5 defendants current attorney the complete file relating to the 6 prosecution of the defendant. 7 The bill provides that the defendants previous trial or 8 appellate attorney may destroy the defendants file prior to 9 the end of the required term of retention if the attorney 10 receives written or electronically recorded consent from the 11 defendant. The written or electronic record of the consent 12 to destruction shall be maintained by the attorney for a 13 period of at least six years after completion or termination 14 of representation or the end of the defendants sentence, 15 whichever occurs first. Items in the file with intrinsic 16 value shall never be destroyed and shall be securely stored 17 or delivered to the state unclaimed property agency. The 18 file shall be destroyed in a manner that preserves client 19 confidentiality. 20 The bill provides that an attorney shall not destroy a 21 file prior to the end of the required term of retention if 22 the attorney knows or reasonably should know that a legal 23 malpractice claim is pending related to the representation; a 24 criminal or other governmental investigation is pending related 25 to the representation; a complaint is pending before the Iowa 26 attorney disciplinary board related to the representation; or 27 other litigation is pending related to the representation. 28 The bill provides that the defendant, the defendants 29 attorney, investigator, expert, consulting legal counsel, or 30 other agent of the attorney representing the defendant shall 31 not disclose to a third party any file received from the 32 prosecuting attorney that is prohibited from public disclosure 33 unless a court orders the disclosure of the materials of such 34 file upon a showing of good cause after notice and a hearing 35 -15- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 15/ 16
H.F. 501 to consider the security and privacy interests of a victim or 1 witness, or the file has already been publicly disclosed. 2 The actual costs involved in the examination or copying of 3 any file disclosed shall be reimbursed by the defendant. The 4 bill does not require the retention of any file not otherwise 5 required by law or court order. 6 The bill defines file as papers, documents, statements, 7 photographs, or tangible objects in the possession, custody, 8 or control of the state including any results or reports of 9 physical or mental examinations and of scientific tests or 10 experiments made in connection with a particular case. 11 -16- LSB 1290YH (5) 90 as/rh 16/ 16