Colorado § 18-3-407.5 - Victim evidence - forensic evidence - electronic lie detector exam without victim's consent prohibited.

§ 18-3-407.5. Victim evidence - forensic evidence - electronic lie detector exam without victim's consent prohibited.

(1) A law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over a sexual assault must pay for any direct cost associated with the collection of forensic evidence from a victim who reports the assault to the law enforcement agency.

(2) A law enforcement agency, prosecuting officer, or other government official may not ask or require a victim of a sexual offense to submit to a polygraph examination or any form of a mechanical or electrical lie detector examination as a condition for proceeding with any criminal investigation or prosecution of an offense. A law enforcement agency shall conduct the examination only with the victim's written informed consent. Consent shall not be considered informed unless the law enforcement agency informs the victim in writing of the victim's right to refuse to submit to the examination. In addition, the law enforcement agency shall orally provide to the victim information about the potential uses of the results of the examination.

(3) (a) A law enforcement agency, prosecuting officer, or other government official may not ask or require a victim of a sexual offense to participate in the criminal justice system process or cooperate with the law enforcement agency, prosecuting officer, or other government official as a condition of receiving a forensic medical examination that includes the collection of evidence.

(b) A victim of a sexual offense shall not bear the cost of a forensic medical examination that includes the collection of evidence that is used for the purpose of evidence collection even if the victim does not want to participate in the criminal justice system or otherwise cooperate with the law enforcement agency, prosecuting officer, or other government official. The division of criminal justice in the department of public safety shall pay the cost of the examination.

(c) When personnel at a medical facility perform a medical forensic examination that includes the collection of evidence based on the request of a victim of a sexual offense and the medical facility performing the examination knows where the crime occurred, the facility shall contact the law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the crime occurred regarding preservation of the evidence. If the medical facility does not know where the crime occurred, the facility shall contact its local law enforcement agency regarding preservation of the evidence. Notwithstanding any other statutory requirements regarding storage of biological evidence, the law enforcement agency contacted by the medical facility shall retrieve the evidence from the facility and maintain it pursuant to section 18-1-1103, unless a victim objects to its destruction pursuant to section 24-4.1-303, in which case the law enforcement agency must maintain it for an additional ten years.

(d) A law enforcement agency shall not submit medical forensic evidence associated with an anonymous report submitted pursuant to section 12-240-139 to the Colorado bureau of investigation or any other laboratory for testing as described in section 24-33.5-113. Medical forensic evidence associated with a medical report submitted pursuant to section 12-240-139, when the victim has consented to evidence testing, shall be submitted to the Colorado bureau of investigation or another laboratory and tested, pursuant to section 24-33.5-113, regardless of whether the victim has chosen to participate in the criminal justice system.

Source: L. 95: Entire section added, p. 948, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2008: (2) amended and (3) added, p. 263, § 1, effective March 31. L. 2013: (1) amended, (HB 13-1163), ch. 215, p. 895, § 2, effective May 13. L. 2015: (3)(c) amended and (3)(d) added, (SB 15-128), ch. 65, p. 181, § 2, effective March 30. L. 2019: (3)(d) amended, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 1675, § 92, effective October 1. L. 2021: (3)(c) amended, (HB 21-1143), ch. 191, p. 1013, § 6, effective May 27.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 21-1143, see section 1 of chapter 191, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.