Ohio

Ohio Criminal Justice Reforms Take Effect on July 6th

By Cleveland Law Library

A landmark number of sweeping criminal justice reforms contained in Ohio SB 77 take effect next week on July 6, 2010. According to the Governor's office, this bill "expands DNA testing for certain convicted felons, eliminates DNA testing for felons who pleaded guilty or no contest, preserves biological evidence in criminal proceeding and improves eyewitness identification procedures." Amogn other changes, the bill specifically requires anyone 18 or older who is arrested for a felony offense after 7/1/11 to submit to a DNA collection procedure. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to adopt specific procedures regarding live and photo lineups. The new law also specifies what types of biological evidence (including blood, saliva and hair) must be preserved for up to 30 years in killings and sexual assaults. Click here to read a recent article from Cincinnati.com with pros and cons about the bill.

Full post as published by Cleveland Law Library Weblog on July 01, 2010 (boomark / email).