Our office recently became aware of the "Check 21" Act which will allow banks to make an electronic substitute of a check upon receipt and the original check destroyed.

Currently the act allows banks to set their own time limit on how long they will keep the original check. Most have indicated that they will destroy immediately to prevent double debits from accounts.

Does anyone else see a problem with this (like losing evidence in the form of latent prints, handwriting, altered checks, and washed checks)?

Has anyone talked to their local banks to address these issues?

I see a real potential problem. It is one more hurdle we face. I have even wondered will the issue come up in unforseen ways such as destruction of evidence containing possible "biological material" DNA etc. not really a legal issue but clearly one that might confuse a jury.
I beleive its an unnessicary burden the banks put on us.

I am urging the banks in my county to hold onto the original checks for 6 months before destruction. I do not anticipate that they will agree to a longer time period. A forgery should come to light well before that time period.

Let's face it. The time is coming to eliminate checks as a form of commercial paper.

John Bradley
District Attorney
Williamson County, Texas

I'll be the first to agree that the electronic age is taking over, but what about the cases being presented now?

Ken - are the banks willing to listen and cooperate in your county? Did you meet with a representative from each of the banks or request the meeting with bank presidents? Does your office also handle Hot Checks?

In the near future, you might not even have to visit a bank or an ATM to deposit a check. You'll simply snap a couple of photos of it with your cell phone.

Applications for that purpose are already available from USAA, a company that provides insurance and banking mainly for military veterans, for Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other mobile devices. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citibank are among the banks planning to release similar applications this year.

Details.

And it's not just the "big" banks....

My credit union has been allowing it for several months. I finally tried it out with my TDCAA reimbursement check from Investigator School. Within minutes, my deposit was ready for withdrawal. I was surprised because my "scanned" (home scanner) copy of the check wasn't that great and even I couldn't read some of the stuff. But the bank took it.

For us honest folks, that's great! For those of us who chase the dishonest ones, this is another nightmare.