§ 5569. Procedure after test results obtained

(a) The results of any postconviction DNA testing conducted pursuant to this subchapter shall be disclosed to the State's Attorney, the Attorney General, the Department of Corrections if the petitioner is under the Department's custody or supervision, the petitioner, and the court.

(b) If the results of forensic DNA testing ordered under this subchapter support the facts alleged in the petition, the court shall schedule a hearing as soon as practicable after the results are received to determine the appropriate relief to be granted. The petitioner and the State shall be permitted to submit motions and be heard at the hearing.

(c) At or subsequent to the hearing, the court may issue an order including the following:

(1) setting aside or vacating the petitioner's judgment of conviction;

(2) granting the petitioner a new trial;

(3) granting the petitioner a new sentencing hearing;

(4) discharging the petitioner from custody;

(5) specifying the disposition of any evidence that remains after the completion of the testing;

(6) granting the petitioner additional discovery on matters related to DNA test results or the conviction or sentence under attack, including documents pertaining to the original criminal investigation and the identities of other suspects; or

(7) providing such other relief as the court deems appropriate.

(d) If, as a result of DNA evidence, the person's conviction for an offense is reversed or vacated, the information or indictment is dismissed, the person is acquitted after a second or subsequent trial, or the person is pardoned:

(1) The court shall order the removal and destruction of the person's name and any information about that conviction from the Sex Offender Registry established under section 5402 of this title, the Child Abuse Registry established under 33 V.S.A. § 4916, the Vulnerable Adult Registry established under 33 V.S.A. § 6911, and any other registry on which the person's name appears solely because of his or her conviction of that offense. If the person has more than one entry on a registry, only the entry related to the offense for which, as a result of DNA evidence, the person's conviction was reversed or vacated, the information or indictment was dismissed, the person was acquitted after a second or subsequent trial, or the person received a pardon shall be removed and destroyed.

(2) It shall not be a violation of Vermont law for the person to respond, when asked, that he or she has never previously been convicted of a crime, and that his or her innocence of the crime charged has been established. This subdivision shall not apply if the person has been convicted of a crime other than the one for which, as a result of DNA evidence, the person's conviction was reversed, the information or indictment was dismissed, the person was acquitted after a second or subsequent trial, or the person was pardoned.

(e) An order issued under this section may be appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules of Appellate Procedure. (Added 2007, No. 60, § 1.)