§60901 Case file review

Summary

An agency head must review a cold-case murder file when one designated person sends a written request. The review must check for missed investigative steps, whether witnesses should be interviewed or reinterviewed, whether physical evidence needs more testing, and update the file using current investigative standards. The reviewer cannot be someone who worked on the original investigation. If the case does not meet the cold-case criteria, the agency head must send a written notice to the requester saying review is not needed because all useful leads are exhausted or a likely perpetrator cannot be identified. The agency must confirm receipt of the request and tell the requester their rights in writing, and only one review at a time is allowed for the same victim. The agency must finish the review and decide within 6 months whether a full reinvestigation is warranted. The agency may extend that deadline one time for up to 6 more months if workload makes the original deadline impractical, but it must notify the requester and explain why.