Alaska § 12.73.020 - Findings required for post-conviction DNA testing orders.

§ 12.73.020. Findings required for post-conviction DNA testing orders.

The court shall order post-conviction DNA testing of specific evidence if        (1) the applicant was convicted of a felony under AS 11.41 ;

 (2) the applicant and, if represented, the applicant's attorney, have submitted the affidavits required by AS 12.73.010 (b);

 (3) the applicant did not admit or concede guilt under oath in an official proceeding for the offense that was the basis of the conviction or a lesser included offense, except that the court, in the interest of justice, may waive this requirement; for the purposes of this paragraph, the entry of a guilty or nolo contendere plea is not an admission or concession of guilt;

 (4) the evidence either             (A) was not subjected to DNA testing; or

 (B) was previously subjected to DNA testing, and                  (i) the applicant is requesting DNA testing using a method or technology that is substantially more probative than the previous DNA testing; or

 (ii) the court determines that granting the application is in the best interest of justice;

 (5) the evidence to be tested has been subject to a chain of custody and retained under conditions that ensure that the evidence has not been substituted, contaminated, or altered in any manner material to the proposed DNA testing;

 (6) the proposed DNA testing is reasonable in scope, uses scientifically sound methods, and is consistent with accepted forensic practices;

 (7) the applicant identifies a theory of defense that would establish the applicant's innocence;

 (8) the applicant was convicted after a trial and the identity of the perpetrator was a disputed issue in the trial;

 (9) the proposed DNA testing of the specific evidence may produce new material evidence that would             (A) support the theory of defense described in (7) of this section; and

 (B) raise a reasonable probability that the applicant did not commit the offense;

 (10) the applicant consents to provide a DNA sample for purposes of comparison and to entry of the results into the DNA identification registration system under AS 44.41.035 and into any other law enforcement database; and

 (11) the application is timely as described in AS 12.73.040 .