2005 California Penal Code Sections 299.5-299.7 Article 6. Limitations on Disclosure

PENAL CODE
SECTION 299.5-299.7

299.5.  (a) All DNA and forensic identification profiles and other
identification information retained by the Department of Justice
pursuant to this chapter are exempt from any law requiring disclosure
of information to the public and shall be confidential except as
otherwise provided in this chapter.
   (b) All evidence and forensic samples containing biological
material retained by the Department of Justice DNA Laboratory or
other state law enforcement agency are exempt from any law requiring
disclosure of information to the public or the return of biological
specimens, samples, or print impressions.
   (c) Non-DNA forensic identification information may be filed with
the offender's file maintained by the Sex Registration Unit of the
Department of Justice or in other computerized data bank or database
systems maintained by the Department of Justice.
   (d) The DNA and other forensic identification information retained
by the Department of Justice pursuant to this chapter shall not be
included in the state summary criminal history information.  However,
nothing in this chapter precludes law enforcement personnel from
entering into a person's criminal history information or offender
file maintained by the Department of Justice, the fact that the
specimens, samples, and print impressions required by this chapter
have or have not been collected from that person.
   (e) The fact that the blood specimens, saliva or buccal swab
samples, and print impressions required by this chapter have been
received by the DNA Laboratory of the Department of Justice shall be
included in the state summary criminal history information as soon as
administratively practicable.
   The full palm prints of each hand shall be filed and maintained by
the Automated Latent Print Section of the Bureau of Criminal
Identification and Information of the Department of Justice, and may
be included in the state summary criminal history information.
   (f) DNA samples and DNA profiles and other forensic identification
information shall be released only to law enforcement agencies,
including, but not limited to, parole officers of the Department of
Corrections, hearing officers of the parole authority, probation
officers, the Attorney General's office, district attorneys' offices,
and prosecuting city attorneys' offices, unless otherwise
specifically authorized by this chapter.  Dissemination of DNA
specimens, samples, and DNA profiles and other forensic
identification information to law enforcement agencies and district
attorneys' offices outside this state shall be performed in
conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
   (g) A defendant's DNA and other forensic identification
information developed pursuant to this chapter shall be available to
his or her defense counsel upon court order made pursuant to Chapter
10 (commencing with Section 1054) of Title 6 of Part 2.
   (h) Except as provided in subdivision (g) and in order to protect
the confidentiality and privacy of database and data bank
information, the Department of Justice and local public DNA
laboratories shall not otherwise be compelled in a criminal or civil
proceeding to provide any DNA profile or forensic identification
database or data bank information or its computer database program
software or structures to any person or party seeking such records or
information whether by subpoena or discovery, or other procedural
device or inquiry.
   (i) (1) (A) Any person who knowingly uses an offender specimen,
sample, or DNA profile collected pursuant to this chapter for other
than criminal identification or exclusion purposes, or for other than
the identification of missing persons, or who knowingly discloses
DNA or other forensic identification information developed pursuant
to this section to an unauthorized individual or agency, for other
than criminal identification or exclusion purposes, or for the
identification of missing persons, in violation of this chapter,
shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year or by imprisonment in the state prison.
   (B) Any person who, for the purpose of financial gain, knowingly
uses a specimen, sample, or DNA profile collected pursuant to this
chapter for other than criminal identification or exclusion purposes
or for the identification of missing persons or who, for the purpose
of financial gain, knowingly discloses DNA or other forensic
identification information developed pursuant to this section to an
unauthorized individual or agency, for other than criminal
identification or exclusion purposes or for other than the
identification of missing persons, in violation of this chapter,
shall, in addition to the penalty provided in subparagraph (A), be
punished by a criminal fine in an amount three times that of any
financial gain received or ten thousand dollars ($10,000), whichever
is greater.
   (2) (A) If any employee of the Department of Justice knowingly
uses a specimen, sample, or DNA profile collected pursuant to this
chapter for other than criminal identification or exclusion purposes,
or knowingly discloses DNA or other forensic identification
information developed pursuant to this section to an unauthorized
individual or agency, for other than criminal identification or
exclusion purposes or for other than the identification of missing
persons, in violation of this chapter, the department shall be liable
in civil damages to the donor of the DNA identification information
in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation,
plus attorney's fees and costs. In the event of multiple disclosures,
the total damages available to the donor of the DNA is limited to
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) plus attorney's fees and costs.
   (B) (i) Notwithstanding any other law, this shall be the sole and
exclusive remedy against the Department of Justice and its employees
available to the donor of the DNA.
   (ii) The Department of Justice employee disclosing DNA
identification information in violation of this chapter shall be
absolutely immune from civil liability under this or any other law.
   (3) It is not a violation of this section for a law enforcement
agency in its discretion to publicly disclose the fact of a DNA
profile match, or the name of the person identified by the DNA match
when this match is the basis of law enforcement's investigation,
arrest, or prosecution of a particular person, or the identification
of a missing or abducted person.
   (j) It is not a violation of this chapter to furnish DNA or other
forensic identification information of the defendant to his or her
defense counsel for criminal defense purposes in compliance with
discovery.
   (k) It is not a violation of this section for law enforcement to
release DNA and other forensic identification information developed
pursuant to this chapter to a jury or grand jury, or in a document
filed with a court or administrative agency, or as part of a judicial
or administrative proceeding, or for this information to become part
of the public transcript or record of proceedings when, in the
discretion of law enforcement, disclosure is necessary because the
DNA information pertains to the basis for law enforcement's
identification, arrest, investigation, prosecution, or exclusion of a
particular person related to the case.
   (l) It is not a violation of this section to include information
obtained from a file in a transcript or record of a judicial
proceeding, or in any other public record when the inclusion of the
information in the public record is authorized by a court, statute,
or decisional law.
   (m) It is not a violation of this section for the DNA Laboratory
of the Department of Justice, or an organization retained as an agent
of the Department of Justice, or a local public laboratory to use
anonymous records or criminal history information obtained pursuant
to this chapter for training, research, statistical analysis of
populations, or quality assurance or quality control.
   (n) The Department of Justice shall make public the methodology
and procedures to be used in its DNA program prior to the
commencement of DNA testing in its laboratories.  The Department of
Justice shall review and consider on an ongoing basis the findings
and results of any peer review and validation studies submitted to
the department by members of the relevant scientific community
experienced in the use of DNA technology.  This material shall be
available to criminal defense counsel upon court order made pursuant
to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1054) of Title 6 of Part 2.
   (o) In order to maintain the computer system security of the
Department of Justice DNA and Forensic Identification Database and
Data Bank Program, the computer software and database structures used
by the DNA Laboratory of the Department of Justice to implement this
chapter are confidential.
299.6.  (a) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the Department of
Justice, in its sole discretion, from the sharing or disseminating
of population database or data bank information, DNA profile or
forensic identification database or data bank information, analytical
data and results generated for forensic identification database and
data bank purposes, or protocol and forensic DNA analysis methods and
quality assurance or quality control procedures with any of the
following:
   (1) Federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies.
   (2) Crime laboratories, whether public or private, that serve
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that have been
approved by the Department of Justice.
   (3) The attorney general's office of any state.
   (4) Any state or federally authorized auditing agent or board that
inspects or reviews the work of the Department of Justice DNA
Laboratory for the purpose of ensuring that the laboratory meets
ASCLD/LAB and FBI standards for accreditation and quality assurance
standards necessary under this chapter and for the state's
participation in CODIS and other national or international
crime-solving networks.
   (5) Any third party that the Department of Justice deems necessary
to assist the department's crime laboratory with statistical
analyses of population databases, or the analyses of forensic
protocol, research methods, or quality control procedures, or to
assist in the recovery or identification of human remains for
humanitarian purposes, including identification of missing persons.
   (b) The population databases and data banks of the DNA Laboratory
of the Department of Justice may be made available to and searched by
the FBI and any other agency participating in the FBI's CODIS System
or any other national or international law enforcement database or
data bank system.
   (c) The Department of Justice may provide portions of biological
samples including blood specimens, saliva samples, and buccal swab
samples collected pursuant to this chapter to local public law
enforcement DNA laboratories for identification purposes provided
that the privacy provisions of this section are followed by the local
public law enforcement laboratory and if each of the following
conditions is met:
   (1) The procedures used by the local public DNA laboratory for the
handling of specimens and samples and the disclosure of results are
the same as those established by the Department of Justice pursuant
to Sections 297, 298, and 299.5.
   (2) The methodologies and procedures used by the local public DNA
laboratory for DNA or forensic identification analysis are compatible
with those used by the Department of Justice, or otherwise are
determined by the Department of Justice to be valid and appropriate
for identification purposes.
   (3) Only tests of value to law enforcement for identification
purposes are performed and a copy of the results of the analysis are
sent to the Department of Justice.
   (4) All provisions of this section concerning privacy and security
are followed.
   (5) The local public law enforcement DNA laboratory assumes all
costs of securing the specimens and samples and provides appropriate
tubes, labels, and materials necessary to secure the specimens and
samples.
   (d) Any local DNA laboratory that produces DNA profiles of known
reference samples for inclusion within the permanent files of the
state's DNA Data Bank program shall follow the policies of the DNA
Laboratory of the Department of Justice.
299.7.  The Department of Justice is authorized to dispose of unused
specimens and samples, unused portions of specimens and samples, and
expired specimens and samples in the normal course of business and
in a reasonable manner as long as the disposal method is designed to
protect the identity and origin of specimens and samples from
disclosure to third persons who are not a part of law enforcement.


Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. California may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.