Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence

 

GOAL: To fund projects that assist States and units of local government with postconviction DNA testing in cases of violent felony offenses where actual innocence might be demonstrated. OBJECTIVES: Program objectives with respect to target number of cases to be reviewed and other concrete goals must be outlined in the proposal. Funded projects are expected to implement some aspect of each of the following activities, except for case identification, which is not mandatory: 1. Identify potential postconviction DNA testing cases. A maximum of 15 percent of the proposed budget may be dedicated to case identification activities. 2. Review appropriate postconviction cases to identify those in which DNA testing could prove the actual innocence of a person convicted of a violent felony offense as defined by state law. 3. Locate biological evidence associated with such postconviction cases. 4. Perform DNA analysis of appropriate biological evidence. Performance Measure 1: Number of new cases reviewed; and, Performance Measure 2: Number of exonerations.

Active 16.820 Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2017 As of June 2018, grantees have reported over 96,000 cases reviewed, over 3,500 pieces of evidence analyzed, and 47 exonerations over the history of the program. In FY 2017, 8 applications were received and 6 applications were funded. In FY 2018, 11 applications were received and 9 are anticipated to be funded. In FY 2019, it is anticipated that approximately 12 applications will be received, and 9 are likely to be funded.
Fiscal Year 2018 In FY 2018, 11 applications were received and 9 applications were funded.
Fiscal Year 2019 As of January 2019, grantees have reported over 109,000 cases reviewed, over 4,000 pieces of evidence analyzed, and 52 exonerations over the history of the program.
Fiscal Year 2020 Through BJA’s Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence Program, more than $6 million was provided to help defray costs associated with identifying and reviewing postconviction DNA cases to help overturn wrongful convictions.
Fiscal Year 2021 Please visit https://bja.ojp.gov/program/postconviction-testing-dna-evidence/overview for information.
Fiscal Year 2022 Please see https://bja.ojp.gov/doc/fs-postconviction-testing-of-dna-evidence.pdf Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2023, Public Law 117-328, Statute 136,4459, 4536 The following entities are eligible to apply: o States o Units of local government o Public institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education) For the purposes of this solicitation, the term "state" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign institutions of higher education are not eligible to apply. All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee. Ensures the availability of fair and impartial administration of justice to Americans who may have been unjustly convicted. If an award is made, prior to receiving award funds an applicant must submit an express certification from the chief legal officer of the State (typically the Attorney General) that the State: i. Provides postconviction DNA testing of specified biological evidence under a State statute, or under State rules, regulations, or practices, to persons convicted after trial and under a sentence of imprisonment or death for a State offense of murder or forcible rape, in a manner intended to ensure a reasonable process for resolving claims of actual innocence. ii. Preserves biological evidence secured in relation to the investigation or prosecution of a State offense of murder or forcible rape, under a State statute, local ordinances, or State or local rules, regulations, or practices, in a manner intended to ensure that reasonable measures are taken by all jurisdictions within the State to preserve such evidence. Any certification that is submitted must be personally executed by the chief legal officer of the State after a determination that the certification may properly be made. While it may be submitted with the application package, submission of this certification is not required at the time of application. If an award is made, access to award funds will be withheld until this certification is received and approved by BJA. Applicants proposing postconviction DNA testing projects involving cases outside of the applicant's State are to provide (prior to receiving award funds) the express certification described above executed by the chief legal officer of the appropriate State for each State for which postconviction cases are sought to be funded in response to the program announcement. Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact assessment is required for this listing. Note: An environmental impact assessment is not required at the time of application (or pre application), but is necessary for removing a withholding of funds special condition after an award is made. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. See the current fiscal year's solicitation available at www.bja.gov. BJA may use external peer reviewers, internal peer reviewers (DOJ employees), or a combination, to assess applications meeting basic minimum requirements on technical merit using the solicitation's selection criteria. Peer reviewers' ratings and any resulting recommendations are advisory only, although their views are considered carefully. Absent explicit statutory authorization or written delegation of authority to the contrary, all final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General (Office of Justice Programs), who may consider factors including, but not limited to, underserved populations, geographic diversity, strategic priorities, past performance under prior OJP awards, and available funding when making awards. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines From 60 to 180 days. There are no appeal rights for rejection of a discretionary application, but for discretionary awards, see 28 CFR Part 18. A request to change the project end date for an award may be submitted by the recipient by at least 30 days prior to the end date for the period of performance under the award, or by the awarding agency grant manager. Requests for extensions are not automatically granted. A one-time extension for no more than 12 months past the original end date (with sufficient accompanying justification) is typically granted. A request to extend the project period for more than 12 months requires additional justification of the circumstances. Applications that meet basic minimum requirements will be evaluated by peer reviewers using the following review criteria. 1. Description of the issue 2. Project Design and Implementation 3. Capabilities and Competencies 4. Budget 5. Plan for Collecting the Data Required for this Solicitation's Performance Measures. See current solicitation at bja.gov for more information. For a complete list and descriptions, please review the solicitation. In general, funds may be used for: 1. Salary and benefits of additional employees 2. Overtime 3. Travel (limited) 4. Computer equipment 5. Laboratory supplies 6. Engage additional (temporary) personnel 7. Procurement from private laboratories of DNA analyses 8. Training (limited) Performance Reports: See the current fiscal year’s solicitation available at www.bja.gov, and the DOJ Grants Financial Guide, available at http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/index.htm. To assist in fulfilling the Departments responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Public Law 103-62, and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, Public Law 111–352, recipients must provide data that measures the results of their work. See 2 CFR Part 200 for the audit requirements. See 2 CFR Part 200 for the government-wide requirements for maintenance of records by grant recipients. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Awards under this program typically are for project periods of up to 36 months. See the current fiscal year’s solicitation available at www.bja.gov and the DOJ Grants Financial Guide, available at www.ojp.gov. None/Not specified. Andrea Borchardt
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Assistance
810 7th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20531 US
Andrea.Borchardt@usdoj.gov
Phone: 2025981721 https://bja.ojp.gov/program/postconviction-testing-dna-evidence/about-program 15-0404-0-1-754 (Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 22$13,726,672.00; FY 23 est $15,000,000.00; FY 24 est $12,000,000.00; FY 21$10,091,766.00; FY 20$6,186,277.00; FY 19$5,456,812.00; FY 18$5,469,201.00; FY 17$3,333,287.00; - FY23 BJA plans to award 15 grants, at an estimated maximum dollar amount for each award of $1,000,000. See the current fiscal year's solicitation guidelines posted on the Office of Justice Programs website at https://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm. See 2 CFR Part 200, 2 CFR Part 2800, the current fiscal year's solicitation at www.bja.gov, and the DOJ Grants Financial Guide at http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/index.htm. Fiscal Year 2017 See NIJ awards from past fiscal years at www.nij.gov/funding/awards.
Fiscal Year 2018 See awards from past fiscal years at www.nij.gov/funding/awards.
Fiscal Year 2022 For a listing of projects funded under this program, please see the grantee maps at: https://bja.ojp.gov/program/prosecuting-cold-cases-using-dna/funding#grantee-maps.