Texas Code of Criminal Procedure - Article 49.10. Autopsies And Tests
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Texas Lawyer > Code of Criminal Procedure > Texas Code of Criminal Procedure - Article 49.10. Autopsies And Tests
Art. 49.10. [975] [1065] [1028] AUTOPSIES AND TESTS. (a) At
his discretion, a justice of the peace may obtain the opinion of a
county health officer or a physician concerning the necessity of
obtaining an autopsy in order to determine or confirm the nature and
cause of a death.
(b) The commissioners court of the county shall pay a
reasonable fee for a consultation obtained by a justice of the peace
under Subsection (a) of this article.
(c) Except as required by Section 264.514, Family Code, for
each body that is the subject of an inquest by a justice of the
peace, the justice, in the justice's discretion, shall:
(1) direct a physician to perform an autopsy; or
(2) certify that no autopsy is necessary.
(d) A justice of the peace may not order a person to perform
an autopsy on the body of a deceased person whose death was caused
by Asiatic cholera, bubonic plague, typhus fever, or smallpox. A
justice of the peace may not order a person to perform an autopsy on
the body of a deceased person whose death was caused by a
communicable disease during a public health disaster.
(e) A justice of the peace shall order an autopsy performed
on a body if:
(1) the justice determines that an autopsy is necessary to
determine or confirm the nature and cause of death;
(2) the deceased was a child younger than six years of age
and the death is determined under Section 264.514, Family Code, to
be unexpected or the result of abuse or neglect; or
(3) directed to do so by the district attorney, criminal
district attorney, or, if there is no district or criminal district
attorney, the county attorney.
(f) A justice of the peace shall request a physician to
perform the autopsy.
(g) The commissioners court shall pay a reasonable fee to a
physician performing an autopsy on the order of a justice of the
peace, if a fee is assessed.
(h) The commissioners court shall pay a reasonable fee for
the transportation of a body to a place where an autopsy can be
performed under this article if a justice of the peace orders the
body to be transported to the place.
(i) If a justice of the peace determines that a complete
autopsy is unnecessary to confirm or determine the cause of death,
the justice may order a physician to take or remove from a body a
sample of body fluids, tissues, or organs in order to determine the
nature and cause of death. Except as provided by Subsection (j) of
this article, a justice may not order any person other than a
physician to take samples from the body of a deceased person.
(j) A justice of the peace may order a physician, qualified
technician, paramedic, chemist, registered professional nurse, or
licensed vocational nurse to take a specimen of blood from the body
of a person who died as the result of a motor vehicle accident if the
justice determines that circumstances indicate that the person may
have been driving while intoxicated.
(k) A justice of the peace may order an investigative or
laboratory test to determine the identity of a deceased person.
After proper removal of a sample from a body, a justice may order
any person specially trained in identification work to complete any
tests necessary to determine the identity of the deceased person.
(l) A medical examination on an unidentified person shall
include the following information to enable a timely and accurate
identification of the person:
(1) all available fingerprints and palm prints;
(2) dental charts and radiographs (X-rays) of the person's
teeth;
(3) frontal and lateral facial photographs with scale
indicated;
(4) notation and photographs, with scale indicated, of a
significant scar, mark, tattoo, or item of clothing or other
personal effect found with or near the body;
(5) notation of antemortem medical conditions;
(6) notation of observations pertinent to the estimation of
time of death; and
(7) precise documentation of the location of burial of the
remains.
(m) A medical examination on an unidentified person may
include the following information to enable a timely and accurate
identification of the person:
(1) full body radiographs (X-rays); and
(2) hair specimens with roots.
(n) On discovering the body or body part of a deceased
person in the circumstances described by Article 49.04(a)(3)(B),
the justice of the peace may request the aid of a forensic
anthropologist in the examination of the body or body part. The
forensic anthropologist must hold a doctoral degree in anthropology
with an emphasis in physical anthropology. The forensic
anthropologist shall attempt to establish whether the body or body
part is of a human or animal, whether evidence of childbirth,
injury, or disease exists, and the sex, race, age, stature, and
physical anomalies of the body or body part. The forensic
anthropologist may also attempt to establish the cause, manner, and
time of death.
(o) If a person is injured in one county and dies as a result
of those injuries, with the death occurring in another county, the
attorney representing the state in the prosecution of felonies in
the county in which the injury occurred may request a justice of the
peace in the county in which the death occurred to order an autopsy
be performed on the body of the deceased person. If the justice of
the peace orders that the autopsy be performed, the county in which
the injury occurred shall reimburse the county in which the death
occurred.
Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1987; Subsec. (e) amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 255, Sec. 4,
eff. Sept. 1, 1995; amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 878, Sec.
3, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1022,
Sec. 102, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch.
1301, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsecs. (l) to (n) added by Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsec. (c)
amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1071, Sec. 1, eff. August 30,
1999; Subsec. (j) amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1132, Sec.
1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Subsec. (n) amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg.,
ch. 240, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Subsec. (o) added by Acts 2001,
77th Leg., ch. 237, Sec. 1, eff. May 22, 2001; Subsec. (d) amended
by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 198, Sec. 2.190, eff. Sept. 1, 2003;
Subsec. (n) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 4, eff.
Sept. 1, 2003; Subsec. (n) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch.
1295, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Article: 49.04 49.041 49.05 49.06 49.07 49.08 49.09 49.10 49.11 49.12 49.13 49.14 49.15 49.16 49.17
Last modified: August 11, 2007
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