Ohio § 2953.77

§ 2953.77.

(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.