Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 2953 | Appeals; Other Postconviction Remedies
Section 2953.77 | Chain of Custody.

Effective: July 6, 2010
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 77 - 128th General Assembly
(A) If an eligible offender submits an application for DNA testing under section 2953.73 of the Revised Code and if the application is accepted and DNA testing is to be performed, the court shall require that the chain of custody remain intact and that all of the applicable following precautions are satisfied to ensure that the parent sample of the biological material collected from the crime scene or the victim of the offense for which the offender is an eligible offender and requested the DNA testing, and the test sample of the parent sample that is extracted and actually is to be tested, are not contaminated during transport or the testing process:
(1) The court shall require that the chain of custody be maintained and documented relative to the parent sample and the test sample actually to be tested between the time they are removed from their place of storage or the time of their extraction to the time at which the DNA testing will be performed.
(2) The court, the testing authority, and the law enforcement and prosecutorial personnel involved in the process, or any combination of those entities and persons, shall coordinate the transport of the parent sample and the test sample actually to be tested between their place of storage and the place where the DNA testing will be performed, and the court and testing authority shall document the transport procedures so used.
(3) The testing authority shall determine and document the custodian of the parent sample and the test sample actually to be tested after they are in the possession of the testing authority.
(4) The testing authority shall maintain and preserve the parent sample and the test sample actually to be tested after they are in the possession of the testing authority and shall document the maintenance and preservation procedures used.
(5) After the DNA testing, the court, the testing authority, and the original custodial agency of the parent sample, or any combination of those entities, shall coordinate the return of the remaining parent sample back to its place of storage with the original custodial agency or to any other place determined in accordance with this division and section 2953.81 of the Revised Code. The court shall determine, in consultation with the testing authority, the custodial agency to maintain any newly created, extracted, or collected DNA material resulting from the testing. The court and testing authority shall document the return procedures for original materials and for any newly created, extracted, or collected DNA material resulting from the testing, and also the custodial agency to which those materials should be taken.
(B) A court or testing authority shall provide the documentation required under division (A) of this section in writing and shall maintain that documentation.

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