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45-16-1 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-1.
(a) Coroners are elected, commissioned, and removed as are clerks of
the superior courts; and coroners shall hold their offices for four
years.
(b)(1) No person shall be eligible to offer for election to or to
hold the office of coroner unless he or she:
(A) Is a citizen of the United States;
(B) Is a resident of the county in which he or she seeks the
office of coroner for at least two years prior to his or her
qualifying for the election to the office and remains a resident
of such county during his or her term of office;
(C) Is a registered voter;
(D) Has attained the age of 25 years prior to the date of the
general primary in the year he or she qualifies for election to
the office;
(E) Has obtained a high school diploma or its recognized
equivalent. This subparagraph shall not apply to any person
serving as a coroner on July 1, 1980;
(F) Has not been convicted of a felony offense or any offense
involving moral turpitude contrary to the laws of this state,
any other state, or the United States; and
(G) Has successfully completed the next scheduled class no
longer than 180 days after such person's election or appointment
a basic training course provided by the Georgia Police Academy,
but the affidavit required by paragraph (2) of this subsection
shall not be required to affirm that the requirements of this
subparagraph have been met at the time of qualifying for the
office of coroner.
(2) Each person offering his or her candidacy for the office of
coroner shall file an affidavit with the officer before whom such
person has qualified to seek the office of coroner prior to or at
the time for qualifying, which affidavit shall affirm that he or
she meets all of the qualifications required pursuant to paragraph
(1) of this subsection.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person holding
office as the mayor of a municipality with a population of 5,000 or
less according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any
future such census is specifically authorized to serve
simultaneously as coroner; and any person holding the office of
coroner is specifically authorized to serve simultaneously as mayor
of a municipality with a population of 5,000 or less according to
the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such
census.
45-16-2 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-2.
(a) Whenever an election fails to fill the office of coroner, the
judge of the probate court shall appoint a person to serve as the
coroner until a successor is duly elected in a special election
which shall be held at the time of the next general election to
serve out the remainder of the unexpired term of office.
(b) In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of coroner, the
judge of the probate court shall appoint a person to serve out the
unexpired term of office and until his successor shall be duly
elected and qualified.
(c) No appointment or election under subsection (a) or (b) of this
Code section shall be of any effect until proper bond and security
is given and the oath of office is taken.
45-16-3 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-3.
Before beginning the duties of the office of coroner, a coroner
shall take the oath required of all civil officers and shall take
the following oath:
"I swear that I will well and truly serve the State of Georgia in
said office and faithfully and truly execute all writs and
precepts to me directed or which I may lawfully execute, when
placed in my charge, and return the same according to the best of
my knowledge, skill, and judgment; that I will in no case
knowingly use or exercise my office illegally, corruptly, or
unjustly and that I will not, under any pretense, take, accept, or
enjoy any fee or reward pertaining to my office other than such as
are allowed by law; but that I will, in all things touching the
duties of my office, demean myself honestly, fairly, and
impartially according to the best of my ability, so help me God."
45-16-4 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-4.
A coroner shall give bond and surety in the sum of $12,500.00 at the
same time as he takes the oath provided for in Code Section 45-16-3.
He is liable for retaining moneys collected or for otherwise failing
to do his duty as sheriffs are and is subject to the same
proceedings.
45-16-5 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-5.
When a coroner is required to act in the place of a sheriff,
generally or specially, the judge of the probate court may require
of him an additional bond in such sum and with such sureties as the
judge, in his discretion, may think sufficient to meet the
contingency.
45-16-6 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-6.
During every calendar year they are in office, every coroner and
deputy coroner shall be required, as a condition of continuing to
serve as coroner, to take a training course approved by the Georgia
Coroner's Training Council pursuant to Code Section 45-16-66. Any
coroner or deputy coroner taking the approved training course
provided by the Georgia Police Academy shall receive the same
expense allowance per day as that received by a member of the
General Assembly, plus reimbursement of actual transportation costs
while traveling by public carrier or the legal mileage rate for the
use of a personal automobile and registration fees for such training
course. Such expense allowance and reimbursements shall be paid by
the county governing authority from county funds. In the event,
however, that a coroner or deputy is prevented in any calendar year
from taking such training by sickness or other providential cause,
the requirement of training for that year may be waived by the
Georgia Coroner's Training Council.
45-16-7 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-7.
(a) As soon as practicable after July 1, 1980, and at the beginning
of each term of the coroner thereafter, the coroner of each county
shall appoint a deputy coroner or coroners as provided in this Code
section. A deputy coroner shall be appointed for each county, and
one or more additional deputy coroners may be appointed for any
county, in the discretion of the coroner. Each deputy coroner shall
serve at the pleasure of the coroner and may be replaced by the
coroner at any time. Each deputy coroner shall take the same oath,
give the same bond, be entitled to the same fees, and have the same
powers as the coroner; but a deputy coroner shall act as coroner
only when the coroner is himself unable to act.
(b) No person shall be eligible to hold the office of deputy coroner
unless he or she holds a high school diploma or its recognized
equivalent. Any deputy coroner who is in office on July 1, 1980,
however, shall without limitation be eligible to serve as deputy
coroner at any time after said date without regard to whether he or
she meets the requirements of this subsection.
(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, there shall be
appointed only one deputy coroner, and, on and after July 1, 1999,
there shall only be one deputy coroner in each such county unless
otherwise approved by the local governing authority of the county.
45-16-8 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-8.
If any person makes an affidavit stating (1) that a sheriff is
disqualified from acting in any proceeding, which disqualification
was not apparent at the outset of the proceeding, or (2) that a
sheriff or his deputy refuses to serve a writ or other process, then
the clerk of the court from which the process issues shall place the
process in the hands of the coroner for execution. The clerk may
compel the sheriff to return the writ or other process to the
clerk's office in order to allow for execution by the coroner.
45-16-9 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-9.
(a) When performing the duties of a sheriff, the coroner's fees are
the same as a sheriff's.
(b) This Code section shall not be construed to repeal or preempt
any local Act or general Act of local application which places any
coroner upon an annual salary or authorizes any coroner to receive
fees in excess of those specified in this Code section.
45-16-10 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-10.
Records, papers, or reports concerning the death of a person on file
at any hospital, nursing home, or other medical facility in this
state shall be available to a coroner of another state if such
person was injured in, a resident of, or buried in the county of
such coroner in such other state or if such records, papers, or
reports are the subject of a subpoena issued by the coroner of
another state. The release of such records to the coroner of
another state shall not be prohibited by Article 4 of Chapter 18 of
Title 50.
45-16-11 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-11.
(a)(1) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the minimum
annual salary of each coroner in any of the counties in this state
in the following population brackets shall be fixed according to
the population of the county in which he or she serves, as
determined by the United States decennial census of 1990 or any
future such census. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2)
of this subsection, each such coroner shall receive an annual
salary, payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of
the coroner's county, of not less than the amount fixed in the
following schedule:
Population Minimum Salary
0 -- 11,889.......................................$ 1,200.00
11,890 -- 19,999....................................... 2,400.00
20,000 -- 34,999....................................... 3,600.00
(2) On and after July 1, 2001, whenever the employees in the
classified service of the state merit system receive a
cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a
certain percentage or a certain amount, the amounts fixed in the
minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and
in Code Section 45-16-11.1, or the amounts derived by increasing
each of said amounts through the application of longevity
increases pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, where
applicable, shall be increased by the same percentage or same
amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living
increase or general performance based increase received by state
employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to
certain categories of employees, the amounts fixed in the minimum
salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code
Section 45-16-11.1, or the amounts derived through the application
of longevity increases, shall be increased by a percentage or an
amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of
the general increase in salary granted to the state employees.
The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average
percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary.
The periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary
schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section
45-16-11.1, or the amounts derived through the application of
longevity increases, as authorized by this paragraph shall become
effective on the first day of January following the date that the
cost-of-living increases received by state employees become
effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases
or general performance based increases received by state employees
become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the
amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of
this subsection, and in Code Section 45-16-11.1, or the amounts
derived through the application of longevity increases, as
authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the same
date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance
based increases received by state employees become effective.
(3) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum
annual salary of the coroner in such amount as it may fix from
time to time; but no coroner's compensation supplement shall be
decreased during any term of office. Any prior expenditure of
county funds to supplement the coroner's salary in the manner
authorized by this paragraph is ratified and confirmed. Nothing
contained in this paragraph shall prohibit the General Assembly by
local law from supplementing the annual salary of the coroner.
(b) The amounts provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this
Code section and Code Section 45-16-11.1, as increased by paragraph
(2) of subsection (a) of this Code section, shall be increased by
multiplying said amounts by the percentage which equals 5 percent
times the number of completed four-year terms of office served by
any coroner after December 31, 2000, effective the first day of
January following the completion of each such period of service.
(c) The minimum salaries provided for under this Code section shall
be in addition to any fees paid by the county governing authority to
the coroner on a per-call basis and in addition to any expenses.
(d) The minimum salaries provided for in this Code section shall be
considered as salary only. Expenses for deputies, equipment,
supplies, copying equipment, and other necessary and reasonable
expenses for the operation of a coroner's office shall come from
funds other than the funds specified as salary in this Code section.
(e) This Code section shall not be construed to reduce the salary of
any coroner in office on July 1, 2001; provided, however, that
successors to such coroners in office on July 1, 2001, shall be
governed by the provisions of this Code section. All local
legislation in effect on July 1, 2001, or enacted thereafter
affecting compensation for coroners of the various counties shall be
of full force and effect except where the same provides for a salary
lower than provided in this Code section, in which event this Code
section shall prevail.
45-16-11.1 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-11.1.
In addition to the minimum salary provided for in Code Section
45-16-11, in any county which is the site of more than one state
correctional institution or prison for adults or juveniles and which
compensates the county coroner by salary, the state shall compensate
the county coroner in the amount of $110.00 for each state inmate
death in such county. The county coroner of such a county is
authorized to accept the compensation provided in accordance with
this Code section despite any local Act which requires such a
coroner to send fees to the county treasury or the county governing
authority.
45-16-11.2 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-11.2.
In addition to any salary, fees, or expenses now or hereafter
provided by law, the governing authority of each of the counties in
this state in the following population bracket is authorized to
provide as contingent expenses for the operation of the office of
coroner, and payable from county funds, a monthly expense allowance
of not less than the amount fixed in the following schedule:
Population Minimum Monthly Expenses
0 -- 34,999...................................................$ 50.00
45-16-20 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-20.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Death
Investigation Act."
45-16-21 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-21.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) "Autopsy" means the dissection of a dead body and the
examination of bone, tissue, organs, and foreign objects for the
purpose of determining the cause of death and circumstances
surrounding the same, which procedure shall include as a minimum
an external examination and the examination of the brain, neck and
thoracic organs, and abdominal organs.
(1.1) "Chief medical examiner" means the chief medical examiner
appointed pursuant to Code Section 35-3-153.
(2) "County medical examiner" means that office established in
lieu of the office of coroner pursuant to Code Section 45-16-80 or
any amendment to the Constitution continued pursuant to the
authority of Article XI, Section I, Paragraph IV of the
Constitution.
(3) "Division" means the Division of Forensic Sciences of the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
(4) "External examination" means an external examination of a dead
body but shall not include dissection of the body for any purpose
except dissection which is necessary for and limited to
procurement of blood or body fluids for toxicological or other
analysis.
(5) "Forensic consultant" means a person meeting the requirements
and authorized to perform the duties specified in subsection (c)
of Code Section 45-16-23.
(6) "Inquest" means an official judicial inquiry before a coroner
and coroner's jury for the purpose of determining the cause of
death.
(7) "Limited dissection" means the incision into or dissection of
a dead body for diagnosis or evidence collection and the term
includes without being limited to an external examination but does
not include an individual examination of the:
(A) Brain;
(B) Neck organs;
(C) Thoracic organs; and
(D) Abdominal organs
but may include an examination of any but not all of the
categories of organs specified in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of
this paragraph.
(8) "Local medical examiner" means a person meeting the
requirements and authorized to perform the duties specified in
subsection (b) of Code Section 45-16-23.
(9) "Medical examiner" means:
(A) The chief medical examiner;
(B) A regional medical examiner;
(C) A county medical examiner;
(D) A local medical examiner; or
(E) Any person who is employed by the state and appointed as a
medical examiner as of December 1, 1989, who continues to
perform the duties and exercise the powers of a medical examiner
under this article when such performance and exercise are within
the scope of such employment.
(10) "Medical examiner's inquiry" means an inquiry made by a
medical examiner into the circumstances surrounding a death which
is required to be reported under the provisions of Code Section
45-16-24, which inquiry may include, but is not required to
include, a scene investigation, an external examination, a limited
dissection, an autopsy, or any combination thereof.
(11) "Medical examiner's investigator" means a person meeting the
requirements and authorized to perform the duties specified in
subsection (d) of Code Section 45-16-23.
(12) "Peace officer in charge" means any peace officer of the
Georgia State Patrol or agent of the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation, sheriff or sheriff's deputy, peace officer assigned
to the coroner's office, county policeman, city policeman, or city
detective who may be in charge of the investigation of any case
involving a death covered by Code Sections 45-16-27 and 45-16-32.
(13) "Regional medical examiner" means a medical examiner who is
employed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and who is a
pathologist certified in forensic pathology by the American Board
of Pathology appointed by the chief medical examiner pursuant to
Code Section 35-3-153.
(14) "Scene investigation" means an examination by the medical
examiner or medical examiner's investigator of the area
surrounding a dead body or area where a death or agonal event
occurred.
(15) "Unattended death," "died unattended," or "died unattended by
a physician" means a death where a person dies of apparently
natural causes and has no physician who can certify the death as
being due to natural causes. If the suspected cause of death
directly involves any trauma or complication of such trauma, the
death must be reported to the coroner or county medical examiner.
An unattended death also occurs when a person is admitted in an
unresponsive state to a hospital and dies within 24 hours of
admission.
45-16-22 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-22.
(a) The director of the division is authorized and directed to
cooperate with and assist the peace officers in charge, medical
examiners, and coroners of the state in making the facilities of the
division available for the performing of medical examiners'
inquiries on dead bodies as required by this article.
(b) The county governing authority shall after consulting with the
coroner, if any, be authorized to appoint one or more local medical
examiners who shall be licensed physicians or pathologists. The
chief medical examiner may, at the request of a county governing
authority, authorize one or more licensed physicians or pathologists
at convenient locations throughout the state to act as local medical
examiners in performing medical examiners' inquiries as required by
this article. The chief medical examiner shall confer with local
county officials in making appointments of regional and local
medical examiners. Any regional or local medical examiner appointed
by the chief medical examiner shall have such jurisdiction within
this state as designated by the chief medical examiner.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this article, it shall be in the
sole discretion of the medical examiner to determine whether or not
an autopsy or limited dissection is required; provided, however,
that the medical examiner shall give due consideration to the
opinions of the coroner and the peace officer in charge regarding
the requirements of accepted investigation techniques and the rules
of evidence applicable thereto.
(d) In the event that any local medical examiner or regional medical
examiner is unable or unwilling to serve in any case, the coroner or
the peace officer in charge may call upon the chief medical
examiner, who shall perform a medical examiner's inquiry or direct
another medical examiner to perform such inquiry.
(e) For each external examination so performed, in cases where
limited dissection or autopsy of the body is not required, the
medical examiner shall receive the fee set in accordance with the
provisions of Code Section 35-3-151. The fee in each case is to be
paid from funds of the county in which the act was committed; or, if
the county in which the act was committed is unknown, the fee shall
be paid from funds of the county in which the body was found. In
the event the place in which the act was committed is not known but
is later established, the county in which the act was committed
shall be responsible for payment of fees incurred by the medical
examiner. Subject to funds being appropriated or otherwise
available for such purpose, the chief medical examiner shall provide
transportation of the deceased person to the site of the autopsy, if
such autopsy is to be performed by a state or regional medical
examiner employed by the state, and to return the body to the county
where the death occurred.
(f) When death occurs in a hospital as a direct result and
consequence of acts or events taking place in a county other than
the one in which such death occurs, the body shall be returned to
the county in which such acts or events took place. When a dead
body is found in a county in which the acts or events leading to
death did not occur, it shall be returned to the county in which the
acts or events did occur, if known. The coroner or local medical
examiner of the county in which such acts or events took place shall
assume jurisdiction and the medical examiner's inquiry, if any
performed, shall be paid for from funds of the county in which such
acts or events took place.
(g) In the event that a medical examiner's inquiry is performed by
the chief medical examiner or an employee thereof, no fee therefor
shall be imposed pursuant to this Code section. In the event that a
medical examiner's inquiry is performed by a medical examiner
regularly employed at a fixed compensation by any county or group of
counties, no fee shall be imposed upon any county or group of
counties employing that medical examiner at a fixed compensation.
(h) Any person holding office as a medical examiner pursuant to an
appointment of the state medical examiner on May 1, 1997, shall
continue in the exercise of his or her functions and duties until
such person's successor has been duly appointed.
45-16-23 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-23.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any coroner
or county medical examiner may delegate to a local medical examiner,
forensic consultant, or medical examiner's investigator the power to
perform those duties of such coroner or medical examiner specified
in this Code section if the person to whom such power is thus
delegated meets the applicable requirements of this Code section for
the performance of such duties, but the performance of those
delegated duties shall not in any manner infringe upon or diminish
the authority of the peace officer in charge at the scene of the
crime.
(b) A local medical examiner shall be a licensed physician appointed
by the state medical examiner to perform scene investigations,
external examinations, limited dissections, autopsies, or any
combination of such duties.
(c) A forensic consultant shall be an expert in a field of forensic
science, including but not limited to odontology or anthropology,
appointed and authorized by the state medical examiner to examine
human remains and evidence under the medical examiner's
jurisdiction.
(d) A medical examiner's investigator shall be a person employed by
a medical examiner to perform duties of such medical examiner with
the same authority as the medical examiner while at the scene of
death and during subsequent investigation, except that no medical
examiner's investigator is authorized to make any arrest or perform
official external examinations, limited dissections, or autopsies.
45-16-24 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-24.
(a) When any person dies in any county in this state:
(1) As a result of violence;
(2) By suicide or casualty;
(3) Suddenly when in apparent good health;
(4) When unattended by a physician;
(5) In any suspicious or unusual manner, with particular attention
to those persons 16 years of age and under;
(6) After birth but before seven years of age if the death is
unexpected or unexplained;
(7) As a result of an execution carried out pursuant to the
imposition of the death penalty under Article 2 of Chapter 10 of
Title 17;
(8) When an inmate of a state hospital or a state, county, or city
penal institution; or
(9) After having been admitted to a hospital in an unconscious
state and without regaining consciousness within 24 hours of
admission,
it shall be the duty of any law enforcement officer or other person
having knowledge of such death to notify immediately the coroner or
county medical examiner of the county wherein the body is found or
death occurs. For the purposes of this Code section, no person shall
be deemed to have died unattended when the death occurred while the
person was a patient of a hospice licensed under Article 9 of
Chapter 7 of Title 31.
(b) A coroner or county medical examiner who is notified of a death
pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall order a
medical examiner's inquiry of that death.
(c) Whenever an affidavit is made and filed with a court having
criminal jurisdiction attesting that a person came to his death by
foul play, that court may interrogate and examine witnesses, if any
exist, as to the necessity of a medical examiner's inquiry. Should
the court decide that a medical examiner's inquiry is essential to
the ends of justice, such inquiry shall be ordered by that court.
(d) A medical examiner's inquiry required under this Code section
shall be reduced to writing and filed as provided in Code Section
45-16-32. At the time of such filing, a copy of the medical
examiner's inquiry into a death reported to a coroner or county
medical examiner pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of this
Code section shall also be transmitted to the department of family
and children services of the county in which the child resided at
the time of death.
45-16-25 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-25.
(a)(1) Upon receipt of the notice required by Code Section
45-16-24, the coroner or county medical examiner shall immediately
take charge of the body. If a registered professional nurse
authorized to make a pronouncement of death under Code Section
31-10-16 or a qualified physician is not available, a coroner,
deputy coroner, or medical examiner's investigator may make a
pronouncement of death at the investigation scene if, and only if,
one or more of the following conditions is met:
(A) The body is in a state of rigor mortis with lividity
present;
(B) The body is in a state of decomposition evidenced by a
component of putrefaction;
(C) The body is skeletonized; or
(D) Death has been established by qualified emergency medical
services personnel.
(2) It shall be the duty of a coroner notified as required by Code
Section 45-16-24 to summon a medical examiner and proper peace
officer. It shall be the duty of a county medical examiner so
notified to summon a proper peace officer. When present at the
scene of death, the peace officer shall have jurisdiction over the
scene of death. The medical examiner or coroner and the peace
officer shall together make inquiries regarding the cause, manner,
and circumstances of death. If either the peace officer or
medical examiner is not present at the scene of death, then
whichever of the two officers is present shall have jurisdiction
over the scene of death. If neither the peace officer nor the
medical examiner is present at the scene of death in any county in
which the office of coroner has not been replaced by a county
medical examiner, the coroner shall assume the responsibility of
such officers at the scene of death and shall have the body
transported to a local medical examiner who shall conduct a
medical examiner's inquiry. The medical examiner, at any time, to
facilitate examination, when he or she deems it necessary, may
have the body embalmed or retain it for refrigeration for
preservation or to avoid the threat of infectious disease prior to
release of the body to the next of kin. Such expense of embalming
shall be paid by the county of the coroner's or medical examiner's
jurisdiction.
(b) When positive identification of dead bodies has not been
established conclusively through personal visual examination of the
remains by persons well acquainted with the decedent in life or by
comparison of fingerprints or footprints or by identification of
unique physical characteristics, such as prosthetic appliances, or
by comparison of skeletal X-rays, including previous fractures, or
by amputations, the medical examiner must either chart or X-ray the
decedent's dentition or call upon a licensed dentist of the medical
examiner's choosing to carry out a dental examination of the body.
This may be accomplished either by examination in situ or by removal
of the jaws with teeth to the dentist's office. The dentist shall
chart the deceased's dentition and make two copies, one of which
shall be filed with the medical examiner's inquiry report to the
division and the other with the Georgia Crime Information Center of
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The dentist may, at his or her
discretion, make such X-rays of the mouth as he or she deems
necessary. The dentist shall be paid a fee as determined in
accordance with Code Section 35-3-151. These fees shall be paid by
the county of the coroner's or local medical examiner's
jurisdiction.
(c) The coroner or county medical examiner shall, in the absence of
the next of kin of the deceased person, take possession of all
property of value found on such person, make an exact inventory
thereof on his or her report, and surrender the same to the person
entitled to its custody or possession. The coroner, medical
examiner, or peace officer shall take possession of any objects,
anatomical specimens, or articles which, in his or her opinion, may
be helpful in establishing the cause of death, manner of death, or
identification of the deceased; and in cooperation with the division
he or she may make such tests and examinations of said objects,
specimens, or articles as may be necessary or useful in determining
the cause of death, manner of death, or the identity of the
deceased. At his or her discretion, the medical examiner or coroner
may dispose of such objects, specimens, or articles when the medical
examiner's or coroner's need for their retention has ended. In the
event that a criminal prosecution arises, all such objects and
articles together with reports of any examinations made upon them
shall be retained in the custody of the director of the division
until their production as evidence is required by the prosecuting
officer or upon written order of the peace officer in charge or
court having proper jurisdiction.
45-16-25.1 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-25.1.
A dead body, other than skeletal remains, taken into custody under
this article shall be released to the next of kin of the deceased,
or to the agent of the next of kin, no later than 24 hours after the
demand for release by that next of kin, or agent thereof, unless by
that time the peace officer, medical examiner, or coroner has made a
written finding that foul play may have been involved in the death
of the deceased.
45-16-26 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-26.
When there is no coroner or deputy coroner in a county in which the
office of coroner has not been replaced by a county medical examiner
or when both are absent from the county when needed or will not or
cannot perform the duties required under this article, the medical
examiner shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the
coroner. When the medical examiner is performing the duties of the
coroner in such cases, such medical examiner may sign the death
certificate except when an inquest is held.
45-16-27 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-27.
(a) Coroners shall require an inquest to be conducted in their
respective counties as follows:
(1) When any person dies under any circumstances specified in
paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (a) of Code Section
45-16-24; provided, however, that an inquest is not required to be
held, although the coroner is authorized to hold an inquest, under
the following circumstances:
(A) When upon the completion of the medical examiner's inquiry
the peace officer in charge and the medical examiner are
satisfied that, even though death resulted from violence, no
foul play was involved. In this event, the peace officer in
charge and the medical examiner shall make a written report of
their investigation and findings to the division as set forth in
Code Section 45-16-32 and upon their recommendation, the coroner
shall make and file a proper death certificate;
(B) When there is sufficient evidence to establish the cause and
manner of death, even though the medical examiner's inquiry
revealed that death resulted from foul play;
(C) When no demand for an inquest is made within 30 days after
the filing of the death certificate. However, if such demand is
made by the party or parties affected by the death, the coroner
is authorized to hold the inquest;
(D) When upon the completion of the medical examiner's inquiry
the medical examiner and peace officer in charge are
sufficiently satisfied that death resulted from natural causes,
and that medical examiner or coroner is willing to and does sign
and file a proper death certificate, and no demand for an
inquest is made within 30 days thereafter;
(D.1) In cases of deaths resulting from an accident involving
any civil aircraft, it shall be the responsibility of the peace
officer in charge to notify the National Transportation Safety
Board or the Federal Aviation Administration of such accident,
to proceed to the scene and guard the area in such manner that
no bodies, wreckage, cargo, or mail shall be moved or disturbed
until authorized by a representative of the National
Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation
Administration except to the extent necessary to remove persons
injured or trapped, to protect the wreckage from further damage,
or to protect the public from injury. Where it is necessary to
move aircraft wreckage, mail, or cargo, sketches, descriptive
notes, and photographs shall be made, if possible, of the
original positions and condition of the wreckage and any
significant impact marks. The coroner or medical examiner shall
assist investigators from the National Transportation Safety
Board or the Federal Aviation Administration as authorized by
federal law;
(E) When after full and complete investigation no evidence of
foul play is found in cases of hidden cause of death which fall
under the jurisdiction of the coroner. The coroner shall be
authorized to sign the death certificate on the basis of the
information given to him in the reports of the peace officer in
charge and the medical examiner, provided that, in such hidden
causes of death, after a complete investigation, if sufficient
medical history is obtained by the coroner, the peace officer in
charge, or the medical examiner to disclose the cause of death
and if the attending physician will sign the death certificate,
such cases shall not come under the jurisdiction of the coroner;
provided, further, that, if there are sufficient competent
eyewitnesses to an act in the opinion of the peace officer in
charge, such cases shall not come under the jurisdiction of the
coroner; or
(F) In cases of deaths of personnel in the armed forces of the
United States government resulting from airplane disasters
involving airplanes of the armed forces, including crashes or
explosions, which deaths shall not come under the jurisdiction
of the coroner. It shall be the responsibility of the peace
officer in charge to notify the proper armed forces of the
United States government immediately of such airplane crashes or
explosions in order that they may send their trained forces to
the scene for investigation. It shall be the duty of the peace
officer in charge, when notified of such crashes or explosions,
to proceed to the scene and guard the area in such manner that
no bodies or parts of said airplanes shall be moved or disturbed
until the arrival of proper investigating officers from the
armed forces of the United States government;
(2) When an inmate of a state hospital or a state, county, or city
penal institution dies unexpectedly without an attending physician
or as a result of violence. The chief medical examiner or his or
her designee, regional medical examiner, or local medical examiner
shall perform all medical examiners' inquiries. The coroner, in
those counties in which such office has not been replaced by a
local medical examiner, shall hold an inquest after receiving the
written reports as set forth in Code Section 45-16-32;
(3) When ordered by a court in connection with a medical
examiner's inquiry ordered by that court pursuant to subsection
(c) of Code Section 45-16-24; or
(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, no
person shall be deemed to have died unattended by a physician when
the death occurred while the person was a patient of a hospice
licensed under Article 9 of Chapter 7 of Title 31.
(b) On and after July 1, 1999, coroners shall be entitled to an
investigation fee of $125.00 where no jury is impaneled or a fee of
$250.00 where a jury is impaneled and shall be paid upon receipt of
a monthly statement to the county treasury. A deputy coroner shall
receive the same fee as the coroner for the performance of services
in place of the coroner and shall be paid upon receipt of a monthly
statement to the county treasury. Such fee shall be paid within ten
days after receipt of the coroner's monthly statement by the county
where the investigation or inquest is held except in counties where
the coroner receives an annual salary, in which case no fee shall be
imposed upon the county by such salaried coroner or deputy coroner.
(c) When a coroner or a medical examiner conducts an investigation
into the death of an individual, the coroner or medical examiner
shall be authorized to issue subpoenas to compel the production of
any books, records, or papers relevant to the cause of death
including without limitation AIDS confidential information as
defined by Code Section 31-22-9.1. Any books, records, or papers
received by the coroner or medical examiner pursuant to the subpoena
must be regarded as confidential information and privileged and not
subject to disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.
The actual costs of copying any books, records, or papers for the
purposes of responding to a subpoena under this subsection shall be
paid out of county funds to the person or entity required to respond
to that subpoena, and the governing authority of the county of which
that coroner or county medical examiner is a public officer shall
pay those costs within 30 days after a bill therefor is submitted to
the county.
45-16-27.1 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-27.1.
(a) Where a coroner or county medical examiner has been notified
pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Code Section 45-16-24
of the death of any person after birth but before 7 years of age
whose death is unexpected or unexplained, the medical examiner's
inquiry required by Code Section 45-16-25 shall include an autopsy
unless that inquiry shows that such death was expected or
explainable with a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
(b) The provisions of this Code section shall apply notwithstanding
subsection (b) of Code Section 45-16-22 or any other provision of
this article.
45-16-28 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-28.
In the case of death of any person under such circumstances as would
not require a medical examiner's inquiry under Code Section
45-16-24, any physician who is duly licensed under the laws of this
state or any other state having licensing requirements equal to or
greater than those imposed by this state shall be deemed to have
been legally authorized to perform an autopsy upon the body of a
deceased person when such autopsy has been consented to by the
person assuming custody of the body for the purposes of burial, such
as the husband, wife, father, mother, child, guardian, next of kin,
or, in the absence of any of the foregoing, a friend of such
deceased person charged by law with the responsibility of burial. If
two or more of such persons assume custody of the body, the consent
of one of them shall be deemed sufficient legal authorization for
the performance of the autopsy.
45-16-29 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-29.
No person shall move or authorize the removal of any body from the
place where the same is found until the investigation is completed
and such removal is authorized by the coroner or medical examiner
present at such investigation; or, if no such coroner or medical
examiner is present, the peace officer shall authorize such removal;
provided, however, that this Code section shall not apply to the
removal of a body where the death occurred while the person was a
patient of a hospice licensed under Article 9 of Chapter 7 of Title
31. If the death resulted from an accident involving the operation
of civil aircraft, no body shall be removed until authorized by the
representative of the National Transportation Safety Board or the
Federal Aviation Administration.
45-16-30 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-30.
No person shall move or transport a body across a Georgia state line
until the investigation of the case and the medical examiner's
inquiry are complete and until the removal of the body is authorized
by the coroner or medical examiner. Except when the conduct is a
violation of Code Section 16-10-94, any person who violates this
Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500.00 or
more than $1,000.00 or 60 days in jail, or both.
45-16-31 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-31.
When the deceased body lies in a place inconvenient for holding a
medical examiner's inquiry, the medical examiner or coroner shall be
allowed to remove the body to the autopsy room of the nearest public
hospital or morgue. If neither the coroner nor the medical examiner
is immediately available, the peace officer may assume the authority
to have the body moved to such facility. When such facility is not
reasonably available, the body may be removed to such other suitable
place as may be designated by the coroner or the medical examiner or
by the peace officer in charge in the absence of the coroner or
medical examiner. If the peace officer in charge is present, no
such body shall be removed until photographs of the body and
surrounding premises have been made and a thorough investigation of
the premises has been made by the proper investigating authorities.
45-16-32 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-32.
The medical examiner and coroner shall file a report of each medical
examiner's inquiry and coroner's investigation with the director of
the division. The division shall maintain the reports and function
as a central repository for the storage and dissemination of such
reports pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. The
coroner or county medical examiner shall maintain permanent records
of such reports. The coroner or county medical examiner may file
all original reports with the clerk of the superior court of the
county. In cases where such report indicates a suspicion of foul
play, the medical examiner and peace officer in charge shall
transmit any specimens, samples, or other evidence to the division
for analysis. In cases where reports indicating foul play are
verified by the division, the director of the division shall provide
a completed crime lab report to the appropriate prosecuting attorney
where the acts or events leading to the death occurred.
45-16-33 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-33.
Upon the completion of the medical examiner's inquiry by the medical
examiner, as provided in Code Section 45-16-24, and after
verification by the division when such verification is required, the
coroner shall then make an inquest into the death of such deceased
person as provided in Code Section 45-16-27.
45-16-34 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-34.
(a) The coroner shall issue subpoenas to or otherwise compel the
attendance of witnesses; and he shall administer to such witnesses
the following oath:
"The evidence that you shall give this inquest on behalf of the
state concerning the death of ______________ (or a person unknown,
as the case may be) shall be the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth, so help you God."
(b) When a coroner conducts an inquest into the death of an
individual, he shall be authorized to issue subpoenas to compel
production of any books, records, or papers relevant to the cause of
death. Any books, records, or papers received by the coroner
pursuant to the subpoena must be regarded as confidential
information and privileged and not subject to disclosure under
Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. The actual costs of copying
any books, records, or papers for the purpose of responding to a
coroner's subpoena under this subsection shall be paid out of county
funds to the person or entity required to respond to that subpoena,
and the governing authority of the county of which that coroner is a
public officer shall pay those costs within 30 days after a bill
therefor is submitted to the county; provided, however, that the
county shall not be responsible for duplication costs under $25.00.
45-16-35 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-35.
If the inquest discloses facts which lead or may lead to the
prosecution of any person for the homicide of the person for whom
the inquest is held, the coroner shall require all witnesses who
testify to facts material to the issues involved in such prosecution
to enter into a recognizance to appear in the superior court of the
county in which the inquest is held and to give evidence against the
defendant in such prosecution; and he shall also petition for the
issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the person suspected of the
homicide, which warrant shall be returnable as other warrants.
45-16-36 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-36.
The coroner shall summon and impanel five jurors and one alternate
juror to hold an inquest, which jurors shall decide the verdict by a
majority vote. The first grand jury impaneled at the fall term of
the superior courts of the several counties shall fix the
compensation of said jurors for the next succeeding year but such
compensation shall not be less than $5.00 nor more than $25.00 per
diem. It shall be the duty of the coroner or other person
discharging the duties of the coroner to give a certificate of the
fact of such service to each juror. Upon presentation of such
certificate to the proper fiscal authority of the county in which
the inquest is held, such fiscal authority shall pay the juror for
his services.
45-16-37 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-37.
No coroner's jury shall be impaneled until the investigation is
completed and copies of the reports of the medical examiner and the
peace officer in charge are received by the coroner. The jury is
not required to view the body.
45-16-38 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-38.
Whenever a coroner receives notice of the death of any person within
the limits of the county of which he is coroner, which death
occurred under circumstances which make it his duty, under the law,
to hold an inquest, he shall make out a precept directed to the
sheriff or any constable of the county having jurisdiction requiring
him to summon a jury of inquest selected from the grand jury or
traverse jury lists of the last excused term of the superior court
of such county to appear before the coroner at the time and place
mentioned in the precept, which precept may be in the following
form:
State of Georgia.
________ County.
To the sheriff or any lawful constable of said county.
Greeting:
You are required immediately to summon six persons of said county,
chosen from the lists of grand jurors and traverse jurors of the
last excused term of the superior court of said county, to be and
appear before me, the undersigned, coroner of the county
aforesaid, at ______, in said county, on the ______ day of
______________ at __:__ _.M. of that same day, then and there to
inquire of, do, and execute all such things as in behalf of the
state shall be given them in charge concerning the death of
_______________________ (or a person unknown, as the case may be),
and be you then and there with this precept to certify what you
have done in the premises and further to do whatsoever else may in
behalf of the state be enjoined upon you.
Given under my hand and seal, this the ______ day of
______________, in the year of our Lord ____.
______________ Coroner (L.S.)
Such precept shall be immediately executed by the sheriff or
constable in whose hands it may be placed; and, if the services of
the sheriff or a constable cannot be conveniently obtained, the
coroner may summon the jury himself.
