§12391 Payment of Cost of Testing for Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Summary

A victim can ask the federal court where the defendant is charged to order the defendant to be tested for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). The judge can do this only after the defendant is told and has a chance to respond. To get the order, the victim must show the defendant has been charged (and there is a probable cause finding if the arrest was without a warrant), that the victim asked for the test after getting counseling, and that the judge finds the defendant’s conduct created a CDC-defined risk of passing HIV to the victim. Any test result given to the victim or defendant must include counseling. The judge may also order follow-up tests and counseling at 6 and 12 months after a negative test if the victim asks. Those follow-up orders stop if the defendant is acquitted or all charges are dismissed. Test results are kept secret and given only to the victim, the person tested, or the victim’s parent or guardian if the judge allows it. The victim may only share results with medical staff, counselors, family, or sexual partners since the attack, and those people must keep them confidential. The court will seal the records, bar using the results in a criminal trial, and may hold anyone who improperly shares results in contempt. The U.S. Sentencing Commission was required, within 6 months after September 13, 1994, to study and report on sentencing guideline changes for cases where a person with HIV knowingly intends to expose another through sexual activity.