Debbie Smith Act

The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 13701) provides United States federal government grants to eligible states and units of local government to conduct DNA analyses of backlogged DNA samples collected from victims and criminal offenders. The Act expands the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and provides legal assistance to survivors of dating violence. Named after sexual assault survivor Debbie Smith, the Debbie Smith Act was passed by the 108th Congress as part of larger legislation, the Justice for All Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-405), and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 30, 2004. The Act amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135), the DNA Identification Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14132) and the Violence Against Women Act of 2000. The Debbie Smith Act was reauthorized in 2008, extending the availability of DNA backlog reduction program grants, DNA evidence training and education program grants and sexual assault forensic exam program grants through fiscal year 2014.^[1]

Debbie Smith

The Debbie Smith Act was named after sexual assault survivor Debbie Smith, whose case was negatively impacted by a rape kit backlog. While she was doing miscellaneous tasks in her kitchen on the afternoon of March 3, 1989, a man wearing a ski mask entered Debbie Smith’s Williamsburg, Virginia home and threatened her with a gun. With her husband upstairs sleeping, Smith feared that if she screamed, he would be shot on his way down the stairs to help. Dragging her into the woods, Debbie’s attacker blindfolded her and raped her repeatedly over the next hour.

After the assault, the assailant made it clear he knew where Debbie lived and could return at anytime should she reveal what happened. Upon her return home, Debbie woke her husband, a lieutenant with the local police department, who convinced her to participate in the collection of DNA evidence for a rape kit. However, Debbie’s rape kit was not formally tested and entered into a national database until 1994, when a serial rapist assaulted several women in the Williamsburg area.

Finally, on July 24, 1995, six years after the assault, a DNA technician identified Debbie’s attacker, Norman Jimmerson, while analyzing various DNA records. Norman Jimmerson, then serving time for abducting and robbing two women in the same year he assaulted Debbie, was sentenced to 161 years in prison under the three strikes law.^[2][3]

Provisions of the Act

The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 attempts to eliminate backlogs of DNA samples collected from victims and criminal offenders, to expand the number and type of samples included in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and to provide legal assistance to survivors of dating violence. The Act amends the:

DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135)

The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to reauthorize and broaden the number of eligible grantees under the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program. The Act expands eligible grantees to include local units of government and authorizes the appropriation of $151,000,000 each year for fiscal years 2005 through 2009 to states and local units of government to conduct DNA analyses of backlogged DNA samples collected from victims and criminal offenders. Under the Act, the Attorney General may award grants to eligible grantees to alleviate backlogs requiring a forensic science other than DNA analysis pending the state or local unit of government can certify that no significant backlog awaits DNA analysis and that there is no immediate need for laboratory equipment, supplies, or additional personnel to ensure the timely processing of future DNA evidence. The Act also amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135) to provide for the use of vouchers or contracts for laboratory services to assist in the reduction of backlogged DNA evidence.^[1]

DNA Identification Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14132)

The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 amends the DNA Identification Act of 1994 to provide for the inclusion of DNA samples collected from individuals charged in an indictment or information with a crime and individuals whose DNA samples are collected by proper legal authorities into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).^[1]

Violence Against Women Act of 2000

The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 amends the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 to broaden the type of survivors eligible for legal assistance to include survivors of dating violence.^[1]

2008 Reauthorization

The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2008 maintains previous appropriation levels for the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program through 2014. The 2008 Reauthorization amends the:

DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135): The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2008 amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 by authorizing the appropriation of $151,000,000 each year for fiscal years 2009 through 2014 for grants to eligible states and local units of government to conduct DNA analyses of backlogged DNA samples collected from victims and criminal offenders.^[4]

DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 14136(b)): The Reauthorization Act of 2008 amends the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 to extend DNA training and education grant programs for law enforcement, correctional personnel and court officers through 2014. The Act authorizes the appropriation of $12,500,000 each year for fiscal years 2009 through 2014 for training, technical assistance and education for law enforcement, correctional personnel and court officers regarding the identification, collection, preservation and analysis of DNA samples and evidence. The Act also maintains sexual assault forensic exam program grants through 2014, authorizing the appropriation of $30,000,000 each year for fiscal years 2009 through 2014. Eligible states, units of local government and sexual assault examination programs can apply for sexual assault forensic exam program grants for training, technical assistance and education regarding the identification, collection, preservation and analysis of DNA samples and evidence.^[4]

Rape kit backlogs still a problem?

Investigations conducted by CBS News and by Human Rights Watch have revealed that despite five years and millions in federal funding, rape kit backlogs persist across the United States and have actually increased in several grant supported states and counties.,^[5][6] According to a 2009 CBS News investigation, at least 20,000 untested rape kits lay in four major U.S. cities and an additional twelve major cities had no idea how many rape kits remained untested in law enforcement storage facilities.^[7] An October 2008 audit of the Los Angeles city crime lab by Human Rights Watch revealed that rape kit backlogs increased between 2004 and 2008, despite nearly $4 million in Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Program grants. In January 2007, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) publicly revealed that approximately 5,000 rape kits resided in LAPD storage facilities. By July 2008 the backlog grew to 7,300, but was later estimated at 5,193 by a February 2009 audit.^[8]

See also

• Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)
• DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000
• Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
• Violence Against Women Act of 2000

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Justice for All Act of 2004, P.L. 108-405 § 2, 118 Stat. 2266 (2004). http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ405.108.pdf
2. ^ Telsavaara, T.V.T, & Arrigo, B.A. (2006). DNA Evidence in Rape Cases and the Debbie Smith Act: Forensic Practice and Criminal Justice Implications. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Criminal Justice Implications, 50, p. 487-505
3. ^ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/dna_4_2001/dna11_4_01.html A First Step Toward Healing: Crime Victim Debbie Smith's Story in Case Studies: The Power of a DNA Match, April 2001, U.S. Department of Justice: Office for Victims of Crime
4. ^ ^{a b} Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2008, H.R. 5057, 110th Cong., 2nd Sess. 2008. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-5057
5. ^ Strickler, L. (2009). Rape Kits Data, By the Numbers: Exclusive CBS News Investigation Tracks the Status of Rape Kits in Over 16 States.CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/09/cbsnews_investigates/main5590842.shtml
6. ^ Human Rights Watch. (2009). "Testing Justice: The Rape Kit Backlog in Los Angeles City and County".http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/03/31/testing-justice
7. ^ Keteyian, A., & Strickler,L. (2009, Nov. 9). Exclusive: Rape in America: Justice Denied."CBS News." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/09/cbsnews_investigates/main5590118.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;1
8. ^ Human Rights Watch (2009, March 31). US: Los Angeles County Should Test Thousands of Rape Kits. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/31/us-los-angeles-county-should-test-thousands-rape-kits