Utah statute
Utah Code Ann. § 77-11c-302 — Requirements for not retaining evidence of felony offense - Preservation of sufficient evidence.
Current through 2026 General Session
Part of Part 3: Retention of Evidence for Felony Offenses, Utah Code.
Full text of Utah Code Ann. § 77-11c-302
Statutory text current through the 2026 General Session. This publication reproduces the official statutory text; it is not the official statutes of the State of Utah.
(1) An agency is not required to retain evidence of a felony offense under Section 77-11c-301 if: (1)(a)(i) the agency determines that: (1)(a)(i)(A) the size, bulk, or physical character of the evidence renders retention impracticable or the evidence poses a security or safety problem for the agency; and (1)(a)(i)(B) the evidence no longer has any significant evidentiary value; (1)(a)(ii) the agency preserves sufficient evidence from the property, contraband, item, or substance for use as evidence in a prosecution of the offense; and (1)(a)(iii) a prosecuting attorney or a court authorizes the agency to return or dispose of the evidence as described in Subsection 77-11c-303; (1)(b) a court orders the agency to return evidence that is property to a claimant under Section 77-11a-305; or (1)(c) the evidence is wildlife or parts of wildlife. (2) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the agency may not dispose of evidence of a felony offense that is a sexual assault kit before the day on which the time period described in Section 77-11c-301 expires if: (2)(a) the agency sends a notice to the victim in accordance with Section 53-10-905; and (2)(b) the victim submits a written request for retention of the evidence within the 180-day period described in Section 53-10-905. (3) Subsection (1) does not require an agency to return or dispose of evidence of a felony offense. (4) Subsection (1) does not apply to biological evidence of a violent felony offense because an agency is required to retain biological evidence of a violent felony offense as described in Part 4, Preservation of Biological Evidence for Violent Felony Offenses. (5) If the evidence described in Subsection (1) is a controlled substance, an agency shall preserve sufficient evidence under Subsection (1)(a)(ii) of the controlled substance by: (5)(a) collecting and preserving a sample of the controlled substance for independent testing and use as evidence; (5)(b) taking a photographic or video record of the controlled substance with identifying case numbers; (5)(c) maintaining a written report of a chemical analysis of the controlled substance if a chemical analysis was performed by the agency; (5)(d) if the controlled substance exceeds 10 pounds, retaining at least one pound of the controlled substance that is randomly selected from the controlled substance; and (5)(e) for a violent felony offense, collecting and preserving biological evidence from the controlled substance as described in Section 77-11c-401. (6) If the evidence described in Subsection (1) is drug paraphernalia, an agency shall preserve sufficient evidence under Subsection (1)(a)(ii) of the drug paraphernalia by: (6)(a) collecting and preserving a sample of the controlled substance from the drug paraphernalia for independent testing and use as evidence; (6)(b) maintaining a written report of a chemical analysis of the drug paraphernalia if a chemical analysis was performed by the agency; (6)(c) taking a photographic or video record of the drug paraphernalia with identifying case numbers; and (6)(d) for a violent felony offense, collecting and preserving biological evidence from the drug paraphernalia as described in Section 77-11c-401. (7) If the evidence described in Subsection (1) is a computer, the agency shall preserve sufficient evidence under Subsection (1)(a)(ii) of the computer by: (7)(a) extracting all data from the computer that would be evidence in a prosecution of an individual for the offense; (7)(b) taking a photographic or video record of the computer with identifying case numbers; and (7)(c) for a violent felony offense, collecting and preserving biological evidence from the computer as described in Section 77-11c-401. (8) For any other type of evidence, the agency shall preserve sufficient evidence under Subsection (1)(a)(ii) of the property, contraband, item, or substance by: (8)(a) taking a photographic or video record of the property, contraband, item, or substance with identifying case numbers; and (8)(b) for a violent felony offense, collecting and preserving biological evidence as described in Section 77-11c-401.
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