BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1189
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Date of Hearing: June 28, 2016
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair
SB
1189 (Pan) - As Amended June 22, 2016
SUMMARY: Requires that a forensic autopsy, as defined, be
conducted by a licensed physician and surgeon. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Provides that a forensic autopsy shall only be conducted by a
licensed physician and surgeon, and the results of a forensic
autopsy only be determined by a licensed physician and
surgeon.
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2)Defines a "forensic autopsy" to mean an examination of a body
of a decedent to generate medical evidence for which the cause
and manner of death is determined.
3)Defines "postmortem examination" to mean the external
examination of the body where no manner of death is
determined.
4)States that the manner of death shall be determined by the
coroner or medical examiner of a county. If a forensic
autopsy is conducted by a licensed physician and surgeon, the
coroner shall consult with the physician in determining the
cause of death.
5)Provides that for health and safety purposes, all persons in
the autopsy suite shall be informed of the risks presented by
blood borne pathogens and that they should wear personal
protective equipment, as specified.
6)States that only persons directly involved in the
investigation of the death of the decedent shall be allowed
into the autopsy suite.
7)Provides that if an individual dies due to the involvement of
law enforcement activity, law enforcement directly involved
with the death of that individual shall not be involved with
any portion of the post mortem examination, nor allowed into
the autopsy suite during the performance of the autopsy.
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8)States that at the discretion of the coroner and in
consultation with the licensed physician and surgeon
conducting the autopsy, individuals may be permitted in the
autopsy suite for educational and research purposes.
9)Requires that any police reports, crime scene or other
information, videos, or laboratory test that are in the
possession of law enforcement and are related to a death that
is incident to law enforcement activity be made available to
the forensic pathologist prior to the completion of the
investigation of the death.
10)States that the above autopsy protocol shall not be construed
to limit the practice of an autopsy for educational or
research purposes.
11)Makes conforming changes to other provisions of law relating
to the conduct of an autopsy.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires coroners to determine the manner, circumstances and
cause of death in the following circumstances:
a) Violent, sudden or unusual deaths;
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b) Unattended deaths;
c) When the deceased was not attended by a physician, or
registered nurse who is part of a hospice care
interdisciplinary team, in the 20 days before death;
d) When the death is related to known or suspected
self-induced or criminal abortion;
e) Known or suspected homicide, suicide or accidental
poisoning;
f) Deaths suspected as a result of an accident or injury
either old or recent;
g) Drowning, fire, hanging, gunshot, stabbing, cutting,
exposure, starvation, acute alcoholism, drug addiction,
strangulation, aspiration, or sudden infant death syndrome;
h) Deaths in whole or in part occasioned by criminal means;
i) Deaths associated with a known or alleged rape or crime
against nature;
j) Deaths in prison or while under sentence;
aa) Deaths known or suspected as due to contagious disease
and constituting a public hazard;
bb) Deaths from occupational diseases or occupational
hazards;
cc) Deaths of patients in state mental hospitals operated by
the State Department of State Hospitals;
dd) Deaths of patients in state hospitals serving the
developmentally disabled operated by the State Department
of Development Services;
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ee) Deaths where a reasonable ground exists to suspect the
death was caused by the criminal act of another; and
ff) Deaths reported for inquiry by physicians and other
persons having knowledge of the death. (Gov. Code, §
27491.)
2)Requires the coroner or medical examiner to sign the
certificate of death when they perform a mandatory inquiry.
(Gov. Code, § 27491, subd. (a).)
3)Allows the coroner or medical examiner discretion when
determining the extent of the inquiry required to determine
the manner, circumstances and cause of death. (Gov. Code, §
27491, subd. (b).)
4)Requires the coroner or medical examiner to conduct an autopsy
at the request of the surviving spouse or other specified
persons when an autopsy has not already been performed. (Gov.
Code, § 27520, subd. (a).)
5)Allows the coroner or medical examiner discretion to conduct
an autopsy at the request of the surviving spouse or other
specified persons when an autopsy has already been performed.
(Gov. Code, § 27520, subd. (b).)
6)Specifies that the cost of autopsies requested by the
surviving spouse or other specified persons are borne by the
requestor. (Gov. Code, § 27520, subd. (c).)
7)Requires that discretionary autopsies include the following:
a) All available finger and palm prints;
b) Dental examination;
c) Collection of tissue including hair sample and DNA
sample, if necessary;
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d) Notation and photographs of significant marks, scars,
tattoos and personal effects;
e) Notation of observations pertinent to the time of death;
and
f) Documentation of the location of the remains. (Gov.
Code, § 27521, subds. (a) and (b).)
8)Provides that a coroner shall within 24 hours, or a soon as
feasible thereafter, where the suspected cause of death is
sudden infant death syndrome, take possession of the body, and
make or cause to be made a postmortem examination or autopsy
thereon, and the detailed medical findings resulting from an
examination of the body or autopsy by an examining physician
must either be reduced to writing, or permanently preserved,
as specified. (Gov. Code, § 27491.4, subd. (a).)
9)Defines "sudden infant death syndrome" to mean the sudden
death of an infant that is unexpected by the history of the
infant and where a thorough postmortem fails to demonstrate an
adequate cause of death. (Gov. Code, § 27491.49, subd. (a).)
10)Requires that an autopsy conducted where it is suspected that
the cause of death is sudden infant death syndrome be
conducted pursuant to a standardized protocol developed by
the SDPH. The protocol shall be developed and approved by July
1, 1990. (Gov. Code, § 27491.41 (d.).)
11)Requires that all coroners, throughout the state, follow the
established protocol when conducting autopsies where the
suspected cause of death is sudden infant death syndrome, and
requires a coroner to state on the certificate of death that
sudden infant death syndrome was the cause of death when the
findings are consistent with the definition of sudden infant
death syndrome. (Gov. Code, § 27491.41 (e).)
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FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to author, "Autopsy reports are
valuable documents that should be accurate and unbiased.
Current law presents grey areas which could undermine public
confidence in autopsy findings by allowing non-medically
trained individuals, who are often elected or appointed, to
conduct the autopsies. Current law also allows law enforcement
involved with the death of the individual inside the autopsy
suite during the procedure which could create the appearance
of influence on the findings and create public distrust in our
criminal justice system. Not only do families deserve to know
what happened to their loved ones, but the public and juries
need to trust that they received accurate objective
information to make the correct verdict on a criminal case. SB
1189 is important to clarify and codify the best practices
taking place in an autopsy room to guarantee an objective and
trustworthy autopsy system."
2)Argument in Support: The Union of American Physicians and
Dentists writes, "Elected officials lack the medical expertise
necessary to perform a postmortem examination to the same
degree as a forensic pathologist, and this bill seeks to add
further legitimacy and authority to death investigations in
coroner cases. NAME writes that determining the cause and
manner of death should be performed by a medical professional
with the expertise to make those medical diagnoses. NAME
furthers states that MEs and forensic pathologists and deaths
in custody or associated with law enforcement personnel are
some of the most highly contentious deaths and can generate a
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tremendous amount of public interest, and all affected parties
must be able to trust that the professionals investigating
these deaths are free of undue influence from the law
enforcement personnel who may have been involved in that
individual's death. Consumer Attorneys of California writes
that it is a conflict of interest to allow the law enforcement
personnel, a potential defendant in a civil or criminal
action, to be allowed inside the autopsy room during the
performance of an autopsy."
3)Argument in Opposition: The California State Sheriffs'
Association (CSSA) writes, "Limiting law enforcement access to
an autopsy suite causes significant issues especially because
many autopsies are conducted because the death is potentially
the result of a criminal act. CSSA states that in such a case,
the body being examined is, and/or contains, evidence and the
presence of law enforcement is crucial to maintain care and
custody of that evidence. CSSA contends that while a
physician generally determines the cause of death, the manner
of death is a determination often made by the coroner in
concert with other individuals, including the pathologist, and
the coroner's role in making this determination should not be
removed."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
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California District Attorneys Association
California Society of Pathologists
College of American Pathologists
Consumer Attorneys of California
Medical Board of California
National Association of Medical Examiners
Union of American Physicians and Dentists
Ventura County District Attorney's Office
Opposition
California State Coroners Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
SB 1189
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Analysis Prepared by:Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744