Request By:
Mr. Leslie A. Henderson, Sr.
Carter County Coroner
Drawer A
Olive Hill, Kentucky 41164
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Your letter raises three questions relating to coroners:
1. Does the coroner's office have the highest authority as far as investigation on homicide, accident cases, and etc. that are investigated by his office?
2. Do all modes of investigation involving various cases come directly thru the coroner's office?
3. Does the coroner's office have the right to control all news releases on cases that are investigated by his office?
KRS 72.020(1) and (2) read:
"(1) Any person, hospital or institution, finding or having possession of the body of any person whose death occurred under any of the circumstances defined in subsections (1) through (12) of KRS 72.025 shall immediately notify the coroner, or his deputy and a law enforcement agency, which shall report to the scene within a reasonable time. No person shall remove the body or remove anything from the body until directed to do so by the coroner or his deputy, after the law enforcement agency is present or has failed, within a reasonable period of time, to respond.
"(2) The coroner shall take possession of any objects, medical specimens or articles which, in his opinion, may be helpful in establishing the cause of death, and he can make or cause to be made such tests and examinations of said objects as may be necessary or useful in determining the cause of death. 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 by the coroner until their production in evidence is required by the prosecuting authority, unless otherwise directed by written order of the court in which such prosecution is pending."
KRS 72.025 sets forth seventeen (17) different circumstances, each of which requires a postmortem examination. A "postmortem examination" means, under KRS 72.405(4), a physical examination of the body by a medical examiner or by a coroner or deputy coroner who has been certified by the Department of Justice and may include an autopsy performed by a pathologist or other appropriate scientific tests administered to determine cause of death.
A "coroner's case" means a case in which the coroner has reasonable cause for believing that the death of a human being within his county was caused by any of the seventeen conditions set forth in KRS 72.025.
Thus under KRS 72.410, the coroner must investigate the cause and manner of all deaths that are defined by KRS 72.405 as a "coroner's case", involving any of the seventeen conditions set forth in KRS 72.025. In addition, under KRS 72.410, the coroner may, in his sound discretion, when investigating a coroner's case, request the assistance of the district medical examiner and the state medical examiner program, order an autopsy and hold an inquest.
Thus where a coroner begins to investigate a death defined by KRS 72.405 as a "coroner's case", his work and jurisdiction should not be interfered with by other peace officers. See KRS 72.410. Under KRS 72.415 the coroner, in properly exercising his jurisdiction, may call on other peace officers for any needed help in making his investigations. See KRS 72.415.
In response to question no. 2, the coroner's investigation of possible crime does not rule out criminal investigation by other peace officers, provided the work and jurisdiction of the coroner in a coroner's case is not interfered with or inhibited in any substantial way.
In answer to question no. 3, the coroner has the authority to control press releases, and use his good judgment, in the public interest and good law enforcement, relating to matters under his investigational jurisdiction. However, this does not preclude other law enforcement agencies from issuing press releases regarding matters they are also investigating.
In OAG 81-149, this office was of the opinion that coroner's reports and completed investigatory files were not exempt from the mandatory disclosure requirement of KRS 61.870 - 61.884. See specifically KRS 61.878(1)(g), relating to inspection of an investigatory file.
The spirit and purpose of various law enforcement officers' statutory duties suggest a spirit of cooperation, but not hindrance, in the mutual vigilance in carrying on the war against crime.
Note that KRS 72.020(1) provides for notifying the "Coroner, or his deputy and a law enforcement agency" where any person or institution has found or has possession of a body of any person whose death occurred under any of the circumstances defined in KRS (1) through (12) of KRS 72.025 (Circumstances requiring postmortem examination of coroner) . (Emphasis added). The body cannot be removed until so directed by the coroner or deputy, after the law enforcement agency is present or has failed, within a reasonable time, to respond. Also KRS 72.020(5) provides that in all cases listed under KRS 72.025 in which a licensed embalmer, funeral director, or ambulance service is notified and is the first person present at the scene of death other than private citizens, he shall notify the coroner and if death appears to fall within the categories established in subsections (1) through (12) of KRS 72.025, he shall notify "a local law enforcement agency" . (Emphasis added). While KRS chapter 72 specifies certain duties to be performed by the coroner (e.g., coroner must require a postmortem examination under KRS 72.025), the provisions of KRS 72.020 do not establish a general concept of superiority in a hierarchy of peace officers. To the contrary, the statutes, while spelling out specific duties to be performed by coroners, reflect the legislative intent for providing for a cooperative effort on the part of coroners and other peace officers. It is highly important that other peace officers get an early exposure to the circumstances surrounding a death coming under KRS 72.025(1) through (12), since at some point their investigation may ripen into a criminal prosecution. Both the work of the coroner and other peace officers are important in carrying on the war against crime. See OAG 83-223. As we said in that opinion, the principal function of the coroner in conducting a postmortem or inquest is to aid criminal justice by inquiring into circumstances of violent or suspicious deaths, the object being to obtain information as to whether death was caused by some criminal act.
Ashland v. Miller, Ky., 283 S.W.2d 195 (1955).
The major purpose of the role of coroner is to contribute something to the determination of the cause of deaths that come within the range of a "coroner's case." Historically, the function of the coroner has been to "aid in the administration of criminal justice" by inquiring into the circumstances of violent or suspicious deaths; and the object of an inquest has been to obtain information as to whether death was caused by some criminal act. (Emphasis added).
City of Ashland v. Miller, Ky., 283 S.W.2d 195 (1955).
In determining whether a coroner's case exists, under KRS 72.405(2), and involving any of the seventeen conditions of KRS 72.025, the coroner must have "reasonable cause for believing that a human death in his county was caused by homicide, crime, violence, accident, suicide, poison, drowning, illegal abortion or unusual circumstances. This reasonable cause for so believing would include the assumption that the death was other than a natural one. Any other construction would open the door to abuse of the power of a coroner, and a perversion of the traditional functions of the office. See City of Ashland v. Miller, above.