Chain Of Custody
When people use the term chain of custody they are referring to the paper trail that shows how fact was determined and established. Chain of custody can refer to a number of different documents and evidence. It can refer to evidence both physical and electronic. This evidence is used for the purpose of determining whether or not certain allegations are true or false. It can be used in crime situations to prove innocence or guilt and it can be used in situations of child custody to determine parentage.
To use a chain of custody in a court of law effectively it has to be established in the right way. Establishing a chain of custody effectively requires the parties involved to follow a set of procedures. The procedures require that each step during the chain of custody be documented in writing. These requirements and procedures must be applied to each and every step during the process of establishing the chain of custody.
When the chain of custody is not established properly the evidence collected during the process may be questioned. In fact, in many cases evidence collected without following proper procedural guidelines in not admissible in a court of law. In a case of child custody this would simply mean that DNA testing would have to be repeated from the beginning. If the case is criminal the evidence that was collected improperly would be inadmissible and it may not be able to be retested or collected.
The chain of custody is of particular importance when it comes to child support and paternity cases. If you are trying to prove you are not connected genetically to a child or you trying to prove someone is the father of your child you must use a lab that is familiar with the chain of custody. Chain of custody paternity results are the only paternity results that are admissible in a court of law. If you get a cheap DNA test done and it doesn’t contain the chain of custody it will not be accepted and you will have to pay for retesting.