Prisoners: friction ridge impressions.

Existing law allows an incarcerated person who has been convicted of a felony to make a written motion for the performance of forensic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing according to a specified procedure. Existing law allows the court to order a hearing on the motion if the court determines the convicted person has met specified requirements and that the hearing is necessary. Existing law allows a court, upon request of the convicted person or the convicted person's counsel, to order the prosecutor to make all reasonable efforts to obtain, and police agencies and law enforcement laboratories to make all reasonable efforts to provide, copies of DNA lab reports, copies of evidence logs, and other specified documents. Existing law requires a court to grant the motion for DNA testing if it determines that the requested DNA testing results would raise a reasonable probability that, in light of all the evidence, the convicted person's verdict or sentence would have been more favorable if the results of DNA testing had been available at the time of conviction. This bill would allow a person who was convicted of a felony and is currently serving a term of imprisonment to make a motion for performance of friction ridge processing and examination to develop, search, and compare friction ridge impressions. The bill would allow the court to order a hearing on the motion if the court determines the convicted person has met specified requirements and that the hearing is necessary. The bill would allow a court, upon request of the convicted person or the convicted person's counsel, to order the prosecutor to make all reasonable efforts to obtain, and police agencies and law enforcement laboratories to make all reasonable efforts to provide, copies of friction ridge examination reports, copies of evidence logs, and other specified documents. The bill would require a court to grant a motion for friction ridge processing, examination, or database searching if it determines that the requested friction ridge processing, examination, and database searching would raise a reasonable probability that, in light of all of the evidence, the convicted person's verdict or sentence would have been more favorable if the results of the friction ridge processing, examination, and database searching had been available at the time of conviction. By increasing the duties of local governmental entities in regard to orders to complete friction ridge processing, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.