November 13, 2008, Introduced by Rep. Meisner and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1953 PA 181, entitled
"An act relative to investigations in certain instances of the
causes of death within this state due to violence, negligence or
other act or omission of a criminal nature or to protect public
health; to provide for the taking of statements from injured
persons under certain circumstances; to abolish the office of
coroner and to create the office of county medical examiner in
certain counties; to prescribe the powers and duties of county
medical examiners; to prescribe penalties for violations of the
provisions of this act; and to prescribe a referendum thereon,"
by amending sections 2, 3, and 5 (MCL 52.202, 52.203, and 52.205),
section 2 as amended by 2004 PA 153 and sections 3 and 5 as amended
by 2006 PA 569, and by adding sections 2a and 5b.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. (1) A county medical examiner or deputy county medical
examiner shall investigate the cause and manner of death of an
individual under each of the following circumstances:
(a) The individual dies by violence.
(b) The individual's death is unexpected.
(c) The individual dies without medical attendance by a
physician, or the individual dies while under home hospice care
without medical attendance by a physician or a registered nurse,
during the 48 hours immediately preceding the time of death, unless
the attending physician, if any, is able to determine accurately
the cause of death.
(d) The individual dies as the result of an abortion, whether
self-induced or otherwise.
(e) The individual dies as the result of 1 or more injuries
suspected to have been caused by a fire.
(2) If a prisoner in a county or city jail dies while
imprisoned, the county medical examiner or deputy county medical
examiner, upon being notified of the death of the prisoner, shall
examine the body of the deceased prisoner.
(3) In conducting an investigation under subsection (1) or
(2), a county medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner
may request the circuit court to issue a subpoena to produce
medical records, books, papers, documents, or other items related
to the death being investigated. The circuit court may punish
failure to obey a subpoena issued under this section as contempt of
court.
(4) Medical records, books, papers, documents, or other items
that a county medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner
obtains in conducting an investigation under this act, whether in
response to a subpoena or otherwise, are exempt from disclosure
under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to
15.246.
(5)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Home hospice care" means a program of planned and
continuous
hospice care provided by a hospice or a hospice
residence
that consists of a coordinated set of services rendered
to
an individual at his or her home on a continuous basis for a
disease
or condition with a terminal prognosis.
(b)
"Physician" means a person licensed as a physician under
part
170 or part 175 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL
333.17001
to 333.17084 and 333.17501 to 333.17556.
(c)
"Registered nurse" means a person licensed as a registered
professional
nurse under part 172 of the public health code, 1978
PA
368, MCL 333.17201 to 333.17242.
Sec. 2a. As used in this act:
(a) "Close personal friend" means an individual who, before
the decedent's death, maintained close contact with the decedent
sufficient to render the individual knowledgeable about the
decedent's activities, health, and religious beliefs.
(b) "Home hospice care" means a program of planned and
continuous hospice care provided by a hospice or a hospice
residence that consists of a coordinated set of services rendered
to an individual at his or her home on a continuous basis for a
disease or condition with a terminal prognosis.
(c) "Next of kin" means the spouse of a decedent or an
individual related to the decedent within the third degree of
consanguinity as determined by the civil law method.
(d) "Physician" means a person licensed as a physician under
part 170 or part 175 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL
333.17001 to 333.17084 and 333.17501 to 333.17556.
(e) "Registered nurse" means a person licensed as a registered
professional nurse under part 172 of the public health code, 1978
PA 368, MCL 333.17201 to 333.17242.
Sec.
3. (1) Any physician and any person A physician, an
individual
in charge of any a hospital
or institution other
health
facility, or any person another individual who shall have has
first
knowledge
of the death of any person any
of the following shall
immediately notify the county medical examiner or deputy county
medical examiner of that fact:
(a)
An individual who shall have died
suddenly, unexpectedly,
accidentally,
violently, or as the result of any suspicious
circumstances. ,
or
(b) An individual who died as a result of 1 or more injuries
suspected to have been caused by a fire.
(c) An individual who died without medical attendance during
the
48 hours prior to immediately
preceding the hour of death,
unless the attending physician, if any, is able to determine
accurately
the cause of death. , or in any case of death due to
(d) An individual who died as a result of what is commonly
known
as an abortion, whether self-induced or otherwise. , shall
notify
the county medical examiner or his or her deputy immediately
of
the death.
(2)
If the physician, person individual
in charge of any a
hospital
or institution other
health facility, or other person
individual
who has first knowledge of the death of
a person an
individual as described under subsection (1) has knowledge that
there were 2 or more individuals involved in the same accident who
were approximately the same age, sex, height, weight, hair color,
eye color, and race, then he or she shall make the county medical
examiner or his or her deputy aware of that fact and whether or not
any of those individuals survived that accident when notifying the
examiner or deputy of the death as required under subsection (1).
If any of those individuals survived, the county medical examiner
or his or her deputy shall also be informed which hospital or
institution those individuals were taken to and the hospital or
institution shall also be made aware that the accident involved 2
or more individuals with similar attributes.
Sec.
5. (1) When If a county medical examiner or deputy county
medical
examiner has notice that there has
been found within his or
her
county or district the body of a
person an individual who is
supposed
to have come to his or her death may
have died in a manner
as
indicated described in section 3
has been found within the
county medical examiner's geographical jurisdiction, the county
medical
examiner shall take charge of the body.
, and if, on view
of
If after examining the body and personal inquiry into
investigating
the cause and manner of the death , the county
medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner considers a
further
examination necessary, the county medical examiner or a
deputy
he or she may cause the dead body to be removed to the
public
morgue. If the investigation is solely
for the reason only
that
the dead person decedent had no medical attendance during the
48
hours before immediately
preceding the hour of death, and if the
dead
person decedent had chosen not to have medical attendance
because of his or her bona fide held religious convictions, removal
shall
is not be required unless there is evidence of
other
conditions
stipulated described in section 3. If there is no public
morgue,
then the body may be removed to a private morgue as
designated
by the county medical examiner has
designated or deputy
county medical examiner.
(2) The county medical examiner or deputy county medical
examiner
may designate a person medical examiner investigator
appointed
pursuant to under section 1a(2) to take charge of the
body, make pertinent inquiry, note the circumstances surrounding
the death, and, if considered necessary, cause the body to be
transported to the morgue for examination by the county medical
examiner or deputy county medical examiner. The county medical
examiner or deputy county medical examiner shall maintain a list of
persons
medical examiner
investigators appointed pursuant to under
section
1a(2) and their qualifications which and shall be filed
file
the list with the local law enforcement
agencies. The person A
medical
examiner investigator appointed pursuant
to under section
1a(2)
shall not be an agent or employee of any a person or funeral
establishment licensed under article 18 of the occupational code,
1980 PA 299, MCL 339.1801 to 339.1812, receive, directly or
indirectly,
any remuneration in connection with the disposition of
the
body, or make any funeral or burial arrangements
without
approval
of the next of kin, if they are found known, or the person
individual responsible for the funeral expenses.
(3)
The Except as otherwise
provided in section 5b, the county
medical examiner may perform or direct to be performed an autopsy
and
shall carefully reduce or cause to be reduced to writing every
each fact and circumstance tending to show the condition of the
body
and the cause and manner of death, together with and shall
include
in that writing the names name and
addresses address of any
persons
each individual present at the autopsy. , which record he
or
she shall subscribe. The
individual performing the autopsy shall
subscribe the writing described in this subsection.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection or section
5b, upon receipt of a written request from a law enforcement agency
or prosecuting attorney investigating the death of an individual
who died as a result of 1 or more injuries suspected to have been
caused by a fire, the county medical examiner or his or her
designee shall perform an autopsy upon the decedent. If the county
medical examiner does not perform or order the performance of an
autopsy pursuant to a request received under this subsection, the
county medical examiner shall explain to the requester in writing
within 48 hours of receiving the written request for the autopsy
that the death was directly caused by fire and that an autopsy was
not required to determine other possible causes of death. If the
law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney believes that an
autopsy would contribute materially to the investigation, the law
enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney may file a petition with
a court of competent jurisdiction for a review of the county
medical examiner's decision not to perform an autopsy. A law
enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney shall file a petition
under this subsection within 24 hours after receiving oral or
written notice of the county medical examiner's decision not to
perform the autopsy or within 24 hours after the county medical
examiner fails to respond within the 48-hour time limit. The court
in which the petition is filed shall hold a hearing on the petition
within 48 hours after the petition is filed. If the court
determines that an autopsy would contribute materially to the
investigation, the court shall order the county medical examiner to
perform the autopsy immediately and to transmit the results of the
autopsy to the petitioner within 24 hours after the autopsy is
performed and all necessary tests are completed.
(5) (4)
The Except as otherwise
provided in this subsection
and subject to subsection (6), the county medical examiner or
deputy county medical examiner shall ascertain the identity of the
deceased
decedent and notify immediately and as
compassionately as
possible notify the next of kin of the decedent's death and the
location
of the body. except that such The notification
described
in this subsection is not required if a person from the state
police, a county sheriff department, a township police department,
or a municipal police department states to the county medical
examiner or deputy county medical examiner that the notification
has already occurred.
(6)
If visual identification of an
individual a decedent is
impossible as a result of burns, decomposition, or other
disfiguring injuries or if the county medical examiner is aware
that the death is the result of an accident that involved 2 or more
individuals who were approximately the same age, sex, height,
weight, hair color, eye color, and race, then the county medical
examiner
shall verify the identity of the deceased decedent through
fingerprints, dental records, DNA, or other definitive
identification procedures and, if the accident resulted in the
survival of any individuals with the same attributes, shall notify
the respective hospital or institution of his or her findings. The
county medical examiner may conduct an autopsy under subsection (3)
if he or she determines that an autopsy reasonably appears to be
required
pursuant to law. After Except
as otherwise provided in
section 5b, after the county medical examiner, a deputy, a person
from the state police, a county sheriff department, a township
police department, or a municipal police department has made
diligent
effort to locate and notify the next of kin, he or she the
county medical examiner may order and conduct the autopsy with or
without
the consent of the next of kin of the deceased decedent.
(7) (5)
The county medical examiner or a
his or her deputy
shall keep a written record of the efforts to locate and notify the
next of kin for a period of 1 year from the date of the autopsy.
The
county medical examiner shall, after any After a required
examination or autopsy, the county medical examiner shall promptly
deliver or return the body or any portion of the body to relatives
or
representatives of the deceased or, if decedent. If there are no
relatives or representatives of the decedent known to the county
medical
examiner, he or she may cause the body
to be decently
buried ,
except that the medical examiner pursuant
to law, but may
retain,
as long as may be he or
she determines necessary, any a
portion of the body believed by the county medical examiner to be
necessary
for the detection of any a
crime.
Sec. 5b. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a county medical
examiner or deputy county medical examiner shall not perform an
autopsy on the body of a decedent if any of the following
circumstances exist:
(a) A next of kin of the decedent informs the county medical
examiner or deputy county medical examiner that an autopsy would be
contrary to the decedent's religious beliefs.
(b) If there is no next of kin of the decedent available, a
close personal friend of the decedent informs the county medical
examiner or deputy county medical examiner that an autopsy would be
contrary to the decedent's religious beliefs and the close personal
friend submits an affidavit to the county medical examiner or
deputy county medical examiner stating the facts and circumstances
upon which his or her claim of being a close personal friend is
based and stating that he or she will assume responsibility for the
lawful disposition of the decedent's body.
(c) There is other information available to the county medical
examiner or deputy county medical examiner so that there is an
obvious reason to believe that an autopsy would be contrary to the
decedent's religious beliefs.
(2) A county medical examiner or deputy county medical
examiner may perform an autopsy under the circumstances described
in subsection (1) if the county medical examiner or deputy county
medical examiner determines that there is a compelling public
necessity for the autopsy. If the county medical examiner or deputy
county medical examiner determines that there is a compelling
public necessity for the autopsy, he or she shall not perform the
autopsy for a period of 48 hours after making the determination of
compelling public necessity. A compelling public necessity exists
for the purposes of this section if either of the following
circumstances exists:
(a) An autopsy is necessary for the conduct by a law
enforcement agency of an investigation of a homicide of which the
decedent is a victim.
(b) An autopsy is necessary to determine the cause of the
decedent's death in order to protect against an immediate and
substantial threat to the public health.
(3) During the 48-hour period described in subsection (2), the
county medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner shall
reevaluate his or her determination of compelling public necessity
for the autopsy by doing all of the following:
(a) Reviewing all of the facts and information available to
him or her.
(b) Seeking any necessary additional information.
(c) Performing noninvasive examinations of the body,
including, but not limited to, external examination, photography,
x-ray, laser examination, computed tomography, and magnetic
resonance imaging.
(4) During the 48-hour period described in subsection (2), a
next of kin or close personal friend described in subsection (1)
may petition a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin the
autopsy. The next of kin or close personal friend shall inform the
county medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner in
writing of the petition. If the county medical examiner or deputy
county medical examiner has obvious reason to believe that an
autopsy would be contrary to the decedent's religious beliefs and
if neither the decedent's next of kin nor the decedent's close
personal friend has raised an objection to the autopsy under this
subsection, the county medical examiner or deputy county medical
examiner shall request a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction
to appoint a representative to act on behalf of the decedent. The
court in which a petition or request is filed shall conduct a
hearing on the matter within 48 hours of the filing of the
petition. If the court finds that there is a compelling public
necessity, the court shall allow the county medical examiner or
deputy county medical examiner to perform the autopsy. A county
medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner who performs an
autopsy under this section shall use the most noninvasive and least
intrusive procedures allowed under the circumstances.