EXCEPT FROM THE FOLLOWING: TITLE 74. STATE GOVERNMENT

Transcription

1 EXCEPT FROM THE FOLLOWING: OKLAHOMA STATUTES TITLE 74. STATE GOVERNMENT FORENSIC LABORATORY ACCREDITATION ACT Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Forensic Laboratory Accreditation Act. Added by Laws 2002, c. 351, 2, emerg. eff. May 30, Definitions - Accreditation - Evidence in criminal trials. A. For purposes of this act: 1. ABFT shall mean the American Board of Forensic Toxicology, an accrediting body for toxicology; 2. Accredited shall mean recognized formally by an accrediting body as meeting or exceeding applicable quality standards; 3. Accrediting body shall mean a nationally recognized organization that has developed and maintained an independent system, based upon ISO/IEC standards, for providing laboratories with an impartial review of laboratory operations and that provides formal recognition or certification to laboratories who demonstrate continued compliance with those standards and other supplemental forensic standards which are specific to the maintenance and testing of forensic evidence;

2 4. ISO/IEC shall mean the International Organization of Standards/International Electrotechnical Commission standard that is published by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission and included as a standard in general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories; 5. Forensic laboratory shall mean a laboratory operated by the state or any unit of municipal, county, city or other local government that examines physical evidence in criminal matters and provides opinion testimony in a court of law; 6. Toxicology analysis shall mean a laboratory analysis whereby biological samples are tested for alcohol and/or other toxic or intoxicating substances; 7. IAI shall mean the International Association for Identification; and 8. Supplemental forensic standards shall mean additional requirements specifically related to maintenance and analysis of forensic evidence required in addition to the calibration and testing requirements of ISO/IEC standards. B. Effective July 1, 2005, all forensic laboratories as defined in this act established or operating prior to that date shall be accredited. The following exceptions shall apply: 1. Breath testing for alcohol; 2. Field testing, crime scene processing, crime scene evidence collection, searches, examinations or enhancements of digital evidence, and crime scene reconstruction; 3. Latent print identification performed by an IAI certified latent print examiner; 4. Marihuana identification using methods generally accepted in the forensic field that are approved by a forensic laboratory accredited in controlled substances;

3 5. All forensic laboratories established on or after July 1, 2005, as defined in this act, shall be accredited within two (2) years of establishment; and 6. Forensic laboratories that exclusively and solely perform forensic toxicology analysis may meet this requirement by being either accredited through an accrediting body as defined in this section or accredited by ABFT. C. On or after July 1, 2005, testimony, results, reports, or evidence of forensics analysis produced on behalf of the prosecution in a criminal trial shall be done by an accredited forensic laboratory. This section shall not apply to: 1. Testimony, results, reports, or evidence of forensic analysis produced by a forensic laboratory established after July 1, 2005, and not yet required to be accredited as set forth in subsection B of this section; 2. Testimony, results, reports, or evidence of forensic analysis produced by a forensic laboratory prior to July 1, Such testimony, results, reports, or evidence need not be performed by an accredited forensic laboratory and may be produced or presented on behalf of the prosecution in a criminal trial after July 1, 2005, as long as the forensic analysis was produced prior to that date; 3. Testimony, results, reports, or evidence of breath testing for alcohol; 4. Testimony, results, reports, or evidence of field testing, crime scene processing, crime scene evidence collection, searches, examinations or enhancements of digital evidence, and crime scene reconstruction; 5. Testimony, results, reports, or evidence of latent print identification performed by an IAI certified latent print examiner; and 6. Testimony, results, reports, or evidence of marihuana identification using methods generally accepted in the forensic field that are approved by a

4 forensic laboratory accredited in controlled substances. Added by Laws 2002, c. 351, 3, emerg. eff. May 30, Amended by Laws 2003, c. 203, 1, emerg. eff. May 9, 2003; Laws 2011, c. 137, 2, eff. Nov. 1, Child Abuse Response Team (CART) - Employees - Qualifications - Report. A. Subject to the availability of funds, there is hereby established within the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation the Child Abuse Response Team (CART) for the purpose of investigating cases of physical and sexual abuse of a child. For the purpose of implementing CART, the Bureau shall employ at least eight Law Enforcement Special Agents assigned to the CART, which shall be full-time-equivalent positions within the Bureau. The previously unclassified positions of CART investigator and CART forensic interviewer shall be transferred to and placed in the classified service without a loss in salary. B. In addition to any other law or rule specifying requirements or qualifications for an OSBI agent to be employed by the Bureau, the Child Abuse Response Team employees shall be qualified for the respective positions as follows: 1. Every CART Agent shall: a. have at least three (3) years of experience as a criminal investigator in a law enforcement agency or agencies, b. be currently certified as a peace officer by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET), c. have served as the primary criminal investigative officer in a law enforcement agency or agencies on cases of physical or sexual abuse of a child, d. have graduated from an accredited college or university with a bachelor degree,

5 e. have experience in conducting forensic interviews of children in cases of physical or sexual abuse of a child, f. have experience testifying in cases of physical or sexual abuse of a child, and g. have completed at least one hundred (100) hours of education or training on forensic interviewing of a child. 2. If the director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is unable to find a person whose qualifications meet or exceed the qualifications specified for the position of Law Enforcement Special Agent assigned to the CART, the director is authorized to offer such position to a person whose qualifications substantially meet the qualifications specified for the position. C. The Bureau may promulgate rules, procedures and forms necessary to establish and implement the functions of the Child Abuse Response Team and to coordinate responsibilities with other persons or agencies having responsibilities relating to child abuse investigation and response to child abuse. Members of the Child Abuse Response Team are authorized, when available, to be involved and utilized in investigations of crimes other than cases of physical and sexual abuse of a child. D. On or before July 1, 2015, the Bureau shall submit to the Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives a statistical report regarding the activities of the CART. Added by Laws 2006, c. 326, 2, eff. July 1, Amended by Laws 2012, c. 153, 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2012; Laws 2014, c. 406, 1, emerg. eff. June 3, 2014.