45-16-27.1 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-27.1.
    
  (a) Where a coroner or county medical examiner has been notified
  pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Code Section 45-16-24
  of the death of any person after birth but before 7 years of age
  whose death is unexpected or unexplained, the medical examiner's
  inquiry required by Code Section 45-16-25 shall include an autopsy
  unless that inquiry shows that such death was expected or
  explainable with a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
    
  (b) The provisions of this Code section shall apply notwithstanding
  subsection (b) of Code Section 45-16-22 or any other provision of
  this article.






45-16-28 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-28.
    
  In the case of death of any person under such circumstances as would
  not require a medical examiner's inquiry under Code Section
  45-16-24, any physician who is duly licensed under the laws of this
  state or any other state having licensing requirements equal to or
  greater than those imposed by this state shall be deemed to have
  been legally authorized to perform an autopsy upon the body of a
  deceased person when such autopsy has been consented to by the
  person assuming custody of the body for the purposes of burial, such
  as the husband, wife, father, mother, child, guardian, next of kin,
  or, in the absence of any of the foregoing, a friend of such
  deceased person charged by law with the responsibility of burial. If
  two or more of such persons assume custody of the body, the consent
  of one of them shall be deemed sufficient legal authorization for
  the performance of the autopsy.



45-16-29 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-29.
    
  No person shall move or authorize the removal of any body from the
  place where the same is found until the investigation is completed
  and such removal is authorized by the coroner or medical examiner
  present at such investigation; or, if no such coroner or medical
  examiner is present, the peace officer shall authorize such removal;
  provided, however, that this Code section shall not apply to the
  removal of a body where the death occurred while the person was a
  patient of a hospice licensed under Article 9 of Chapter 7 of Title
  31.  If the death resulted from an accident involving the operation
  of civil aircraft, no body shall be removed until authorized by the
  representative of the National Transportation Safety Board or the
  Federal Aviation Administration.

45-16-30 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-30.
    
  No person shall move or transport a body across a Georgia state line
  until the investigation of the case and the medical examiner's
  inquiry are complete and until the removal of the body is authorized
  by the coroner or medical examiner. Except when the conduct is a
  violation of Code Section 16-10-94, any person who violates this
  Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
  thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500.00 or
  more than $1,000.00 or 60 days in jail, or both.




45-16-31 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-31.
    
  When the deceased body lies in a place inconvenient for holding a
  medical examiner's inquiry, the medical examiner or coroner shall be
  allowed to remove the body to the autopsy room of the nearest public
  hospital or morgue. If neither the coroner nor the medical examiner
  is immediately available, the peace officer may assume the authority
  to have the body moved to such facility. When such facility is not
  reasonably available, the body may be removed to such other suitable
  place as may be designated by the coroner or the medical examiner or
  by the peace officer in charge in the absence of the coroner or
  medical examiner.  If the peace officer in charge is present, no
  such body shall be removed until photographs of the body and
  surrounding premises have been made and a thorough investigation of
  the premises has been made by the proper investigating authorities.



45-16-32 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-32.
    
  The medical examiner and coroner shall file a report of each medical
  examiner's inquiry and coroner's investigation with the director of
  the division.  The division shall maintain the reports and function
  as a central repository for the storage and dissemination of such
  reports pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.  The
  coroner or county medical examiner shall maintain permanent records
  of such reports.  The coroner or county medical examiner may file
  all original reports with the clerk of the superior court of the
  county. In cases where such report indicates a suspicion of foul
  play, the medical examiner and peace officer in charge shall
  transmit any specimens, samples, or other evidence to the division
  for analysis.  In cases where reports indicating foul play are
  verified by the division, the director of the division shall provide
  a completed crime lab report to the appropriate prosecuting attorney
  where the acts or events leading to the death occurred.




45-16-33 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-33.
    
  Upon the completion of the medical examiner's inquiry by the medical
  examiner, as provided in Code Section 45-16-24, and after
  verification by the division when such verification is required, the
  coroner shall then make an inquest into the death of such deceased
  person as provided in Code Section 45-16-27.



45-16-34 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-34.
    
  (a) The coroner shall issue subpoenas to or otherwise compel the
  attendance of witnesses; and he shall administer to such witnesses
  the following oath:
    
    "The evidence that you shall give this inquest on behalf of the
    state concerning the death of ______________ (or a person unknown,
    as the case may be) shall be the truth, the whole truth, and
    nothing but the truth, so help you God."
    
  (b) When a coroner conducts an inquest into the death of an
  individual, he shall be authorized to issue subpoenas to compel
  production of any books, records, or papers relevant to the cause of
  death.  Any books, records, or papers received by the coroner
  pursuant to the subpoena must be regarded as confidential
  information and privileged and not subject to disclosure under
  Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.  The actual costs of copying
  any books, records, or papers for the purpose of responding to a
  coroner's subpoena under this subsection shall be paid out of county
  funds to the person or entity required to respond to that subpoena,
  and the governing authority of the county of which that coroner is a
  public officer shall pay those costs within 30 days after a bill
  therefor is submitted to the county; provided, however, that the
  county shall not be responsible for duplication costs under $25.00.


45-16-35 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-35.
    
  If the inquest discloses facts which lead or may lead to the
  prosecution of any person for the homicide of the person for whom
  the inquest is held, the coroner shall require all witnesses who
  testify to facts material to the issues involved in such prosecution
  to enter into a recognizance to appear in the superior court of the
  county in which the inquest is held and to give evidence against the
  defendant in such prosecution; and he shall also petition for the
  issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the person suspected of the
  homicide, which warrant shall be returnable as other warrants.





45-16-36 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-36.
    
  The coroner shall summon and impanel five jurors and one alternate
  juror to hold an inquest, which jurors shall decide the verdict by a
  majority vote. The first grand jury impaneled at the fall term of
  the superior courts of the several counties shall fix the
  compensation of said jurors for the next succeeding year but such
  compensation shall not be less than $5.00 nor more than $25.00 per
  diem. It shall be the duty of the coroner or other person
  discharging the duties of the coroner to give a certificate of the
  fact of such service to each juror. Upon presentation of such
  certificate to the proper fiscal authority of the county in which
  the inquest is held, such fiscal authority shall pay the juror for
  his services.


45-16-37 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-37.
    
  No coroner's jury shall be impaneled until the investigation is
  completed and copies of the reports of the medical examiner and the
  peace officer in charge are received by the coroner.  The jury is
  not required to view the body.


45-16-38 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  12/03/01
    
  45-16-38.
    
  Whenever a coroner receives notice of the death of any person within
  the limits of the county of which he is coroner, which death
  occurred under circumstances which make it his duty, under the law,
  to hold an inquest, he shall make out a precept directed to the
  sheriff or any constable of the county having jurisdiction requiring
  him to summon a jury of inquest selected from the grand jury or
  traverse jury lists of the last excused term of the superior court
  of such county to appear before the coroner at the time and place
  mentioned in the precept, which precept may be in the following
  form:
    
     State of Georgia.
     ________ County.
    
    To the sheriff or any lawful constable of said county.
    
    Greeting:
    
    You are required immediately to summon six persons of said county,
    chosen from the lists of grand jurors and traverse jurors of the
    last excused term of the superior court of said county, to be and
    appear before me, the undersigned, coroner of the county
    aforesaid, at ______, in said county, on the ______ day of
    ______________ at __:__ _.M. of that same day, then and there to
    inquire of, do, and execute all such things as in behalf of the
    state shall be given them in charge concerning the death of
    _______________________ (or a person unknown, as the case may be),
    and be you then and there with this precept to certify what you
    have done in the premises and further to do whatsoever else may in
    behalf of the state be enjoined upon you.
    
    Given under my hand and seal, this the ______ day of
    ______________, in the year of our Lord ____.
    
                                         ______________ Coroner (L.S.)
    
  Such precept shall be immediately executed by the sheriff or
  constable in whose hands it may be placed; and, if the services of
  the sheriff or a constable cannot be conveniently obtained, the
  coroner may summon the jury himself.