Not less than 15 days before any proposed disposition of an exhibit pursuant to Section 1417.3, 1417.5, or 1417.6, the court shall notify the district attorney or other prosecuting attorney, the attorney of record for each party, and each party who is not represented by counsel of the proposed disposition. Before the disposition, any party, at his or her own expense, may cause to be prepared a photographic or digital record of all or part of the exhibit by a person who is not a party or attorney of a party. The clerk of the court shall observe the taking of the photographic or digital record and, upon receipt of a declaration of the person making the photographic or digital record that the duplicate delivered to the clerk is a true, unaltered, and unretouched duplicate of the photographic or digital record taken in the presence of the clerk, the clerk shall certify the photographic or digital record as such without charge and retain it unaltered for a period of 60 days following the final determination of the criminal action or proceeding. For purposes of this section, a “photographic record” of the exhibit means a photographic image of the exhibit or its equivalent stored in any form. For purposes of this section, a “duplicate” means a counterpart produced by a mechanical, photographic, chemical, electronic, or other equivalent process or technique that accurately reproduces the original. A certified photographic or digital record of exhibits shall not be deemed inadmissible pursuant to Section 1521 or 1522 of the Evidence Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 566, Sec. 3. (SB 238) Effective October 7, 2017.)