To amend section 313.19 of the Revised Code to establish procedures for the commencement, determination, and appeal of an action to change a death certificate or coroner's verdict.

Section 1. That section 313.19 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 313.19. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Decedent" means the person whose death is recorded on a death certificate.

(2)(a) "Interested party" means any of the following, except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2)(b) of this section:

(i) The spouse of the decedent at the time of the decedent's death;

(ii) A former spouse of the decedent if the former spouse can show a substantial interest in the correctness of the death certificate or coroner's verdict;

(iii) A natural or adopted child of the decedent;

(iv) An executor or other fiduciary appointed by a court to care for the decedent's estate;

(v) The prosecuting attorney of the county in which the decedent died.

(b) "Interested party" does not include any of the following:

(i) A person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense related to the death of the decedent unless and until the conviction is overturned, vacated, or otherwise set aside and the action overturning, vacating, or otherwise setting aside the conviction is not subject to further appeal or trial;

(ii) A person, other than a prosecuting attorney, who in the court's opinion is acting solely on behalf of another person who is not an interested party in order to advance the claims of the other person;

(iii) A corporation or other entity that is not a natural person.

(3) "Substantial interest" means a contractual or other financial interest of the person asserting the substantial interest or of that person's heirs in the correctness of the death certificate or coroner's verdict.

(4) "Offense related to the death of the decedent" means any of the following:

(a) Aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, negligent homicide, aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular homicide, or vehicular manslaughter;

(b) An attempt to commit, complicity in committing, or conspiracy to commit any of the offenses listed in division (A)(4)(a) of this section;

(c) Perjury, obstructing justice, or tampering with evidence in relation to any offense listed in division (A)(4)(a) or (b) of this section.

(B) The cause of death and the manner and mode in which the death occurred, as delivered by the coroner and incorporated in the coroner's verdict and in the death certificate filed with the division of vital statistics, shall be the legally accepted manner and mode in which such death occurred, and the legally accepted cause of death, unless pursuant to this section the court of common pleas of the county in which the death occurred, after a hearing, directs the coroner to change his the coroner's decision as to such cause and manner and mode of death.

(C) A coroner may modify a death certificate or coroner's verdict as allowed by law, but no court shall order a modification of a death certificate or coroner's verdict except pursuant to this section.

(D) An interested party may seek relief under this section by filing a petition within three years after the decedent's death. The three-year period is not tolled by the pendency of a criminal prosecution, proceeding for post-conviction relief, or appeal related to the death of the decedent. The petitioner shall name as respondents the county coroner of the county in which the death occurred and all other persons whom a diligent search would reveal to be interested parties. The petition shall state in detail the relief sought and be accompanied by affidavits supporting the claims contained in the petition. If any issue raised in the petition addresses matters that require expert opinion, one or more of the affidavits shall be made by an expert whose qualifications, as shown in the affidavit, appear to comply with the provisions of the Rules of Evidence concerning expert testimony. The petition shall be served in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure.

(E)(1) No court shall hear a petition that is not filed within the time prescribed by this section or extend the time within which a petition may be filed. The court shall dismiss any petition that fails to properly join and serve any interested party if it appears to the court that the petitioner, through a diligent search, should have identified that party as an interested party.

(2) A court with which a petition has been filed under this section shall dismiss the petition without a hearing if the petition and accompanying affidavits present only evidence that is substantially the same as evidence that was used or available for use in a prior criminal proceeding or related collateral proceeding by any interested party and if the court in the prior proceeding entered a judgment adverse to the interested party's claim. Evidence shall not be deemed unavailable for use in a prior criminal proceeding or related collateral proceeding solely because it was not presented in that proceeding or was excluded from consideration by the trier of fact in that proceeding on procedural grounds.

(3) In an action brought under this section, the court, in its discretion and on any terms that it considers appropriate, may permit a corporation or other entity to be joined as a permissible party and to participate in the action if the court determines that the joinder of the corporation or other entity is necessary to protect the interests of the corporation or other entity. A court's decision to grant or deny a request for joinder of a permissible party under division (E)(2) of this section is final and not appealable.

(F) If a petition is filed in a timely manner pursuant to this section during the pendency of a criminal prosecution, proceeding for post-conviction relief, or appeal related to the death of the decedent, the court shall stay the proceedings on the petition until the defendant in the criminal prosecution, the petitioner in the proceeding for post-conviction relief, or the appellant in the appeal has exhausted the defendant's, petitioner's, or appellant's state and federal rights of direct appeal and collateral review.

(G)(1) If the court finds that a petition filed pursuant to this section meets all of the requirements set forth in this section, the court shall set the petition for hearing. Before the hearing the court may, but need not, do any of the following:

(a) Require that the coroner or any other party file and serve an answer to the petition;

(b) Grant to any party the right to conduct discovery under the Rules of Civil Procedure;

(c) Issue any order that the court considers necessary to a fair determination.

(2) At the hearing the petitioner shall have the burden of going forward with evidence and shall have the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the death certificate or coroner's verdict is in error. The hearing shall be conducted without a jury and in accordance with the Rules of Evidence.

(H) A dismissal of a petition for failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section, or for failure of proof after a hearing, is a dismissal with prejudice to the filing of another petition related to the death certificate or coroner's verdict in question by all named petitioners and against all persons whose interest is in privity with any of the petitioners and all joined parties, except that the prosecuting attorney, upon the discovery of new evidence, may file one or more further petitions in the interests of justice. The prosecuting attorney's failure or refusal to file another petition is not subject to review by any court.

(I) If a party to an action brought under this section appeals the final decision of the court, the court of appeals shall do one of the following:

(a) If the final decision modifies the death certificate or coroner's verdict, conduct a review de novo;

(b) If the final decision affirms the correctness of the death certificate or coroner's verdict, determine whether the trial court abused its discretion with regard to an appealable matter and either affirm the decision or remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

(J) No change in a death certificate or coroner's verdict made pursuant to this section shall be the basis of a new trial for, or the withdrawal of any plea to, any offense related to the death of the decedent unless one of the following applies:

(1) Both of the following apply:

(a) Either the petitioner shows that the petitioner was unavoidably prevented from discovery of the facts upon which the petition must rely to present the claim for relief or, subsequent to the period described in division (D) of this section, a court having binding authority over the court in which the petition was filed recognized a new federal or state right that applies retroactively to persons in the petitioner's situation, and the petition asserts a claim based on that right.

(b) The petitioner shows by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable factfinder presented with the modified death certificate or coroner's verdict would have found the petitioner guilty of the offense of which the petitioner was convicted or to which the petitioner pleaded guilty.

(2) The petitioner was convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony offense, the petitioner was in custody pursuant to the conviction or guilty plea when the petition was filed, and an analysis in the context and upon consideration of all available admissible evidence related to the petitioner's case, including the modified death certificate or coroner's verdict, establishes the petitioner's actual innocence of that felony offense.

Section 2. That existing section 313.19 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. This act is intended to be a remedial measure. It is the General Assembly's specific intent that this act apply to all cases, including cases pending on the effective date of this act, regardless of when the death at issue occurred. If a case that is pending on the effective date of this act is dismissed because of noncompliance with this act, the dismissal shall be without prejudice to the filing of a new petition in compliance with this act within thirty days after the dismissal.