| (a) Written report requirements. If the Commission
approves a full investigation, the Panel or Staff shall coordinate
the completion of the investigation and draft a written report, including
a recommendation for final disposition to the Commission. An investigative
report or recommendation is not final and does not represent the conclusions
of the Commission until a final report is adopted and issued by a
majority of a quorum of Commissioners. The Commission must issue a
report using the criteria set forth in Article 38.01, Code of Criminal
Procedure.
(b) Investigations of accredited crime laboratories
and accredited forensic disciplines only. For investigations involving
accredited crime laboratories and accredited forensic disciplines,
the Commission may:
(1) find there is insufficient credible information
to conclude that professional negligence or professional misconduct
occurred in the forensic analysis;
(2) find there is sufficient evidence to conclude that
professional negligence or professional misconduct occurred in the
forensic analysis;
(3) require retrospective re-examination of evidence
as appropriate;
(4) require corrective action and follow-up as appropriate.
(c) All Commission investigations. For all Commission
investigations, regardless of whether they involve accredited crime
laboratories and accredited forensic disciplines, the Commission's
report may:
(1) make observations regarding the integrity and reliability
of the forensic analysis conducted;
(2) identify applicable best practices; and
(3) make other relevant recommendations.
(d) Any finding by the Commission is not a comment
upon the guilt or innocence of any individual and is not necessarily
a basis for relief in litigation or in any other forum. Reports of
the Commission are not admissible in a civil or criminal action.
(e) The Commission must make the final report available
to the public on the Commission's website and provide a copy, as applicable,
to the:
(1) prosecutor, judge, defendant and defense attorney
involved in the underlying criminal case, if any;
(2) Board of Pardons and Paroles;
(3) Director of the Department of Public Safety;
(4) Governor;
(5) Lieutenant Governor;
(6) Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(7) complainant; and
(8) actor(s) and accredited laboratory, facility, or
entity involved in any part of the forensic analysis.
(f) Open records limitation. Pursuant to Code of Criminal
Procedure, Article 38.01 §10, information that is filed as part
of an allegation of professional misconduct or professional negligence
or that is obtained during an investigation of an allegation of professional
misconduct or professional negligence is not subject to release until
the conclusion of an investigation by the Commission.
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