§ 77-11c-301 — Retention of evidence for felony offenses.

(1) Except as provided in Subsection (4), an agency shall retain evidence of a felony offense:
(1)(a) for the longer of:
(1)(a)(i) the length of the statute of limitations for the felony offense if:
(1)(a)(i)(A) charges are not filed for the felony offense; or
(1)(a)(i)(B) the felony offense remains unsolved;
(1)(a)(ii) the length of time that any individual convicted of the felony offense, or a lesser included offense, remains in custody;
(1)(a)(iii) one year after the day on which all direct appeals of the final judgment for any individual convicted of the felony offense, or a lesser included offense, are exhausted; or
(1)(a)(iv) the length of time that a petition for postconviction relief, and any appeal of the petition, is pending if an individual convicted of the felony offense files the petition within the one-year time period described in Subsection (1)(a)(iii); or
(1)(a)(v) 20 years from the day on which the evidence is collected if the evidence is the contents of a sexual assault kit; or
(1)(b) at the discretion of the prosecuting attorney or federal prosecutor if the prosecution of the felony offense resulted in an acquittal or dismissal.
(2) An agency shall ensure that evidence of a felony offense is subject to a continuous chain of custody.
(3) Subsection (1) does not require an agency to return or dispose of evidence of a felony offense.
(4) An agency shall retain and preserve biological evidence of a violent felony offense in accordance with Part 4, Preservation of Biological Evidence for Violent Felony Offenses.

Legislative History

Amended by Chapter 150, 2024 General Session; Amended by Chapter 164, 2024 General Session