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Overview of Access to Autopsy Records and Documentation Within the United States: Federal and State Law Survey

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Overview of Access to Autopsy Records and Documentation Within the United States: Federal and State Law Survey Overview of Access to Autopsy Records and Documentation Within the United States: Federal and State Law Survey. Drew Canavan Research Assistant, Juris Doctor Candidate Stetson Law October 2016 Purpose and Scope: Autopsies are used by governmental actors, insurance companies and the court system to determine the causes of death. In order to facilitate the training of legal professionals there is a desire to use records generated during an autopsy to understand the process of the autopsy and provide a basic medical understanding as to how bodily systems relate and interact to current and future lawyers. Such understanding can facilitate the proper application of criminal and tort law. This survey sought to examine the ability of an educator to be able to obtain the documentation created from a crime scene, as well as during and subsequent autopsies, to provide an evaluation of the ability to access and in some cases use the material in professional and post-secondary education and instruction. The document is a collection of legal information, not legal advice. The document is intended to be a starting point for legal research to be conducted. For the user’s convenience links to LexisAdvance have been included. 2 Table of Contents Federal..........................................................................................................................................................5 Alabama......................................................................................................................................................11 Alaska .........................................................................................................................................................14 Arizona........................................................................................................................................................17 Arkansas .....................................................................................................................................................20 California ....................................................................................................................................................21 Colorado .....................................................................................................................................................29 Connecticut.................................................................................................................................................32 Delaware.....................................................................................................................................................37 Florida.........................................................................................................................................................41 Georgia .......................................................................................................................................................43 Hawaii.........................................................................................................................................................44 Idaho...........................................................................................................................................................45 Illinois .........................................................................................................................................................47 Indiana........................................................................................................................................................52 Iowa ............................................................................................................................................................55 Kansas.........................................................................................................................................................56 Kentucky .....................................................................................................................................................60 Louisiana.....................................................................................................................................................65 Maine..........................................................................................................................................................66 Maryland ....................................................................................................................................................69 Massachusetts............................................................................................................................................71 Michigan .....................................................................................................................................................75 Minnesota...................................................................................................................................................77 Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................89 Missouri......................................................................................................................................................91 Montana .....................................................................................................................................................94 Nebraska.....................................................................................................................................................96 Nevada......................................................................................................................................................105 New Hampshire ........................................................................................................................................109 New Jersey................................................................................................................................................111 New Mexico..............................................................................................................................................116 3 New York ..................................................................................................................................................118 North Carolina ..........................................................................................................................................123 North Dakota ............................................................................................................................................124 Ohio ..........................................................................................................................................................125 Oklahoma .................................................................................................................................................127 Oregon......................................................................................................................................................130 Pennsylvania.............................................................................................................................................131 Rhode Island .............................................................................................................................................136 South Carolina ..........................................................................................................................................141 South Dakota ............................................................................................................................................143 Tennessee.................................................................................................................................................147 Texas.........................................................................................................................................................149 Utah..........................................................................................................................................................151 Vermont....................................................................................................................................................152 Virginia......................................................................................................................................................153 Washington ..............................................................................................................................................159 West Virginia ............................................................................................................................................162 Wisconsin .................................................................................................................................................168 Wyoming ..................................................................................................................................................170 4 Federal Summary In 2004, the Supreme Court Acknowledged a right to privacy of the decedent’s family in addressing a Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by the New York
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