appointments in writing under his hand, and the same shall be recorded in the records of the superior court in his county. And whenever any medical examiner shall be removed, the coroner shall deliver to him a written discharge, and file a copy thereof with the clerk of the superior court for record.

or from un

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SEC. 4. When any person shall come to a sudden, violent, or In cases of untimely death, and when any person shall be found dead, the sudden death, manner of whose death is not known, any one who shall become known cause. aware of such death shall forthwith report the same to the medical examiner for the town in which the dead body lies, who shall pay the person first reporting such death fifty cents therefor, and who shall without delay repair to view and take charge of the dead body.

medical examiner of death not criminal act or

another.

SEC. 5. Whenever after such view and immediate inquiry the Return by medical examiner shall be satisfied that the death was not caused by the criminal act, omission, or carelessness of another, or caused by others, and that there are no suspicious circumstances attending omission of the same, he shall forthwith make out, sign, and leave with the registrar of births, marriages, and deaths of the town, a certificate of death in the form required by law; and he shall also, immediately after such view and inquiry, make out and mail or deliver to the coroner of his county a certificate signed by him of the following or similar import:

in

years

male
for if an unknown per-

who

I, the undersigned, A. B., medical examiner, having notice of the death of C. D., a white or colored] old, late of the town of son state that fact and carefully describe the body, its clothing, any articles found on or near it which may be of service in its identification, always stating sex, color, apparent age, color and cut of hair, beard, color of eyes, and all special marks or deformities of body], on the day of A. D. 18 [was found dead or died,] in the town of having viewed the body of said deceased, and made immediate inquiry concerning h death, do hereby certify that said C. D. died in day of A. D. 18 from [natural cause, suicide, or accident, as the case may be, stating manner of suicide and nature of accident,] and that I am satisfied that the said death was not caused by the criminal act, omission, or carelessness of any other person or persons, and that an inquest is unnecessary. In accordance with the statute I have delivered the body of said deceased to [his friends or town authorities] for burial.

Dated,

on the

A. B., Medical Examiner.

SEC. 6. Whenever a medical examiner shall see reason to such return when made by suspect that the person whose body he has viewed came to his or the coroner. her death by the criminal act, omission, or carelessness of another or others, he shall as speedily as possible by telegraph, telephone, or otherwise, notify the coroner for the county of such death and of the place where the dead body is lying. Whenever the coroner has such notice he shall at once, and on other notice may, proceed to view and take charge of the dead body, and make all proper inquiry respecting the cause and manner of the death; and if from such view and inquiry he shall be satisfied that the

298

Coroner's inquest.

Jury of inquest.

Verdict to be communicated

officer, when.

death was not caused by the criminal act, omission, or carelessness of another or others, then said coroner shall make and sign the certificates required in like cases of medical examiners by section five of this act.

SEC. 7. After a view and inquiry had by the coroner, if he shall have reason to suspect that the death was caused by the criminal act, omission, or carelessness of another or others, he may cause an examination or autopsy to be made of the body by the medical examiner or by some other competent surgeon or physician, who shall reduce or cause to be reduced to writing, either at the time of making such examination or autopsy or immediately thereafter, and when practicable in the presence of the dead body, every fact and circumstance found by such examination or autopsy which tends to show the identity or condition of such dead body, and the time, manner, and cause of such death; which writing he shall subscribe under oath and deliver to said coroner. The taking of the testimony of such medical examiner, physician or surgeon, and of any other person or persons whom the coroner may find it necessary to examine, shall constitute an inquest.

SEC. 8. Should the coroner deem it necessary, he may by warrant cause a jury of six judicious men of his county to be summoned before him to assist him in his investigation, which jury shall be by him sworn to diligently inquire, under his direction, into the cause and manner of such death and to present to him, on their oaths and over their signatures, a true verdict thereof. The coroner shall instruct said jurors in their duties and as to all questions of law that may properly arise at such inquest; he may adjourn such inquest to meet again at such time and place as he shall think proper, and he may order any inquest or any part thereof to be held in private, in which case only the persons by him designated shall be allowed to remain in the room or place where such inquest is being held.

SEC. 9. If the verdict or finding in 'any inquest charges any to prosecuting person or persons with having caused the death which is the subject of the inquest, the coroner shall without delay communicate the import of said verdict or finding to a grand juror or a prosecuting attorney of the town or city in which such death happened or was caused.

Testimony and report of inquest to be returned to

clerk of superior cont.

Coroner's record.

SEC. 10. The coroner shall reduce to writing, and shall, within ten days after any inquest has been held, return the testimony of all witnesses examined in the inquest to the clerk of the superior court in his county, together with his report of the inquest, which shall include his finding or the verdict of the jury, and he shall also return to said clerk all certificates sent him by the medical examiner in accordance with section five of this act, and all similar certificates by him made.

SEC. 11. Every coroner shall keep a proper and durable record book into which he shall copy all the certificates sent to or made by him as prescribed by sections five and six of this act, and in which he shall also keep a record of all views, inquiries, and inquests by him made or held, stating the time and place of

the view and inquest, the names and residences of the witnesses, the cause and manner of the death as found, the disposition and place of burial of the dead body, and a careful description of all dead bodies not identified before burial.

299

examination.

SEC. 12. Whenever a coroner has notice that there is in his Ante-mortem county a person who has been dangerously wounded or injured by the criminal act, omission, or carelessness of another, and who is likely to die from such wounds or injuries, he shall endeavor to take or cause to be taken the statement of such person concerning the manner in which, and the person by whom, such injuries were inflicted.

on or

body.

of the coroner.

SEC. 13. In all cases arising under the provisions of this act Property found the medical examiner shall take into his possession and shall body Dear dead deliver to the coroner all the property found upon or near the deceased person, or which, in his judgment, will aid in the investigation of the death; and when such articles are no longer required to be kept for the purposes of justice the coroner shall deliver the same to the person or persons entitled to their custody, or if they are not claimed by such persons within sixty days thereafter, then such articles or property shall be administered upon according to law. After the termination of all proceedings Disposition of by the medical examiner and coroner the body shall be forthwith the body. delivered to the friends of the deceased for interment; but in case there are no friends who will take charge of and bury it, then to the proper authorities of the town in which such body is lying, whose duty it shall be to bury it. Whenever the deceased person shall not have left property sufficient to defray the expenses of the burial, then the same shall be paid by said town. SEC. 14. For the purpose of securing evidence the coroner General powers may enter any and all places in his county; shall have power to issue a warrant for a jury of inquest, to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses by subpoena and capias issued by him or other proper authority, and to punish for contempt to the same extent as justices of the peace now may in criminal cases; he may order and cause witnesses to be kept separate, so that they cannot communicate with one another until they shall have testified; he may order or cause any person or persons whom he has good reason to suspect of having criminally caused the death in regard to which he is holding an inquest to be arrested and committed to the county jail or other proper place; he shall have power to take bail in such cases, or commit without bail when in his opinion the person arrested is guilty of a capital offense and when the proof against such person is evident or the presumption great. When bail is taken it shall be to the state and shall be conditioned for the appearance of the person so arrested before the superior court for such county at its next criminal term. Any person so arrested and admitted to bail may be re-arrested and committed by the coroner without bail, when in the opinion of the coroner the proof is evident or the presumption great that such person is guilty of a capital offense. In no case shall any person be kept under arrest by an order from a coroner for a longer time than twenty-four hours after the

300

Process issued by him.

Penalty for malfeasance.

Deputy coroner.

Proceedings, the medical examiner absent.

Inquest by the medical examiner.

Chemical or microscopical examinations.

finding of a verdict by the jury, or after the finding by the coroner in such inquest; and at any time before such finding, whenever the grounds on which a person is so arrested cease to exist, in the opinion of the coroner, said coroner shall order the release of such arrested person.

SEC. 15. All process, orders, and papers proper to be issued by a coroner may be directed to any proper officer, and it shall be the duty of any such officer to serve such papers and process as directed, and, when requested, to remain in attendance on such coroner and to execute his lawful orders during any inquiry or inquest by him being held.

SEC. 16. Every officer who shall wilfully violate any of the provisions of this act; and every person who shall wilfully, and without good cause, neglect or refuse to serve on a jury of inquest when duly summoned; and every person who shall wilfully, and without good cause, neglect or refuse to report a case of death as prescribed in sections three and eighteen of this act, or who shall wilfully and unnecessarily touch, remove, or disturb any dead body, or any article on or near such body, or disturb its surroundings, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by such fine and imprisonment both.

SEC. 17. Every coroner shall for such time as he may designate appoint a deputy, who shall only act as such in case of the sickness, absence from his county, or other inability of the coroner, and when so acting, and for such time only, such deputy coroner shall have the same powers and duties as are by this act given to coroners, and while so acting shall receive the same fees as are herein provided for the coroner in like cases.

SEC. 18. In case of the absence or inability to act of the medical examiner it shall be the duty of any person becoming aware of the death of any person under the circumstances named in section four to report the same forthwith to the most accessible medical examiner for another town, who shall thereupon proceed to perform the duties and shall have the powers of the local medical examiner so absent or unable to act.

SEC. 19. In case the attendance of a coroner or of his deputy cannot be procured within thirty-six hours after the medical examiner has taken charge of a dead body, upon which an inquest ought to be held in accordance with this act, or sooner in case of the known inability of the coroner and his deputy to attend, the medical examiner who first took charge of such dead body may then hold such an inquest thereon, and in and for such case only such medical examiner shall have all the powers and be subject to all the duties given to and prescribed for coroners by this act; but the coroner, or in case of his inability his deputy, may at any time enter and take control of such inquest, and thereupon such medical examiner shall be relieved from all further powers and duties therein.

SEC. 20. If in any case it shall appear to the coroner to be necessary to have a chemical or microscopical analysis, or other scientific investigation, for the purpose of ascertaining the cause

of the death of the person on whose body he is holding an inquest, he shall so report to the state's attorney of his county, who may order such analysis or investigation to be made, and who shall certify to the expense thereof, which expense shall then be paid by the state, on an order therefor by the clerk of the superior court of such county; and the fees of any physician or surgeon for services rendered under the provisions of section seven of this act shall be certified and paid in the same manner.

301

SEC. 21. The following fees shall be paid by the coroner: Fees to be paid a sum not exceeding five dollars for services rendered in bringing by the coroner. to land the dead body of a person found in any of the waters of his county; for pictures of a dead body, a reasonable sum; for keeping and removing dead bodies, and other incidental services and expenses, a reasonable sum; to the medical examiner, ten cents per mile for travel, and for an external examination only, the sum of five dollars; for an autopsy, twenty dollars; to the officer serving any process or papers, the same fees as for similar services rendered in criminal prosecutions, and for attendance on the coroner when requested, one dollar and fifty cents per day; to witnesses the same fees as in criminal prosecutions; but police officers of cities shall not be paid any fee by the coroner for serving papers, testifying before or attending on him.

SEC. 22. For the services required of and rendered by coro- Coroner's fees. ners under this act, they shall receive the following fees, to be paid quarterly in the manner provided in section twenty-three: for each day necessarily employed, fifteen dollars; and for each legal page of records and copies necessarily made after the termination of an inquest, forty cents.

expenses made

SEC. 23. Every coroner shall return to the clerk of the superior Returns of court of his county a full account, signed and sworn to by him, by coroners, of all his lawful fees, expenses, and payments in each view or inquest, which account said clerk shall submit to the state's attorney for such county, who shall endorse the same, if correct, or such items thereof as are correct, and the sums so endorsed shall be paid by the state on an order therefor by such clerk.

SEC. 24. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith, Repeal. including chapter twenty-three of title thirteen of the general statutes (page 181), and part one of chapter two, title sixteen of said statutes (page 205), and section thirty-one of chapter twelve, title twenty of said statutes (page 529), and chapter thirty-nine of the public acts of 1882 (page 139), and the provisions of all special acts giving authority to hold inquests on dead bodies, or perform any of the duties assigned to coroners and medical examiners by this act, are hereby repealed.

Approved, May 1, 1883.