Section 45-2-61 Coroner’s investigation. A coroner’s investigation shall mean a process of collecting pertinent information concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of an individual, and background information, including all, but not limited to, medical information, which may be helpful in determining the cause and manner of death, or the identification of the deceased. A coroner’s […]
Section 45-2-61.01 Qualifications. The county coroner must have a high school education or an equivalent degree. The county coroner prior to beginning his or her first term and all deputy coroners prior to their first such appointment shall complete at least a 20-hour coroner’s death investigation course comparable to the standard course designed for death […]
Section 45-2-61.02 Limitation of coroner’s investigation. (a) A coroner’s investigation is limited to inquiries for determining the cause and manner of death, the identity of the deceased, and circumstances surrounding death. (b) If the coroner’s investigation reveals any evidence or suspicion of foul play in regard to the death, he or she shall immediately notify […]
Section 45-2-61.04 Postmortem examination and autopsies. When the Baldwin County Coroner determines a death under investigation is one described in Section 45-2-61.03, the coroner may, and upon request, shall be assisted by a state medical examiner in the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, as necessary, to help determine the cause and manner of death or […]
Section 45-2-61.05 County coroner or state medical examiner may take charge of bodies. While conducting a coroner’s investigation of a death hereunder, the Baldwin County Coroner or state medical examiner shall be authorized to take charge of the dead body, and he or she or a law enforcement officer having jurisdiction may take possession and […]
Section 45-2-61.06 Responsibility to certify deaths. If after conducting a coroner’s investigation of a death, the Baldwin County Coroner or the designated deputy coroner is satisfied that the death was not caused by a criminal act or omission, that there are no suspicious circumstances about the death, that the law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction […]
Section 45-2-61.07 Hospital and medical records. While conducting a coroner’s investigation of a death hereunder, the Baldwin County Coroner or a state medical examiner or the director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is authorized to issue subpoenas for the production of pertinent medical records, radiographs, and biological tissues and fluids as may be […]
Section 45-2-61.08 Duty to report deaths; alteration of body evidence prohibited. It shall be the duty and responsibility of any person in the county having knowledge concerning a death occurring under the categories defined in Section 45-2-61.03 to report such death promptly to the Baldwin County Coroner or to any law enforcement agency who, in […]
Section 45-2-61.09 Duty to notify next of kin and account for personal effects. The county coroner or any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction and with approval of the county coroner shall take possession of personal effects on or about the dead body and ascertain that the next of kin is notified in regard to the […]
Section 45-2-61.10 Cost of assistance. The assistance provided by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences through its state medical examiners or other scientists, employees, or agents shall be provided without fee to Baldwin County unless otherwise provided for by the law or agreement between the county governing body and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. […]
Section 45-2-61.11 Reports as evidence. The reports of death investigations conducted by the county coroner or by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, or true copies thereof duly certified by the county coroner or the director of the department, respectively, are admissible in any court in the county with or without testimony by the county […]
Section 45-2-61.12 No liability incurred for proper performance. Neither the Baldwin County Coroner nor any member of his or her staff, the Director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, the state medical examiners or any member of the department’s staff or agents, shall incur any civil or criminal liability for the proper and reasonable […]
