Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_23-cv-01575/USCOURTS-caed-1_23-cv-01575-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MARTHA ZEPEDA OLIVARES, et al.,

 Plaintiffs,

 v.

CITY OF FRESNO, et al.,

 Defendants.

CASE NO. 1:23-cv-01575 JLT SAB

ORDER ON OBJECTIONS TO THE EX 

PARTE REQUEST FOR A PRIVATE 

AUTOPSY

The Court issued a preliminary order granting the plaintiffs’ request for a private 

autopsy of the body of Maximiliano Sosa, Jr., who, it is alleged, was recently shot and killed by 

one or more member of the Fresno Police Department. The plaintiffs seek to have the autopsy 

occur before the body is embalmed, due to the changes that can be made to the forensic 

evidence due to the embalming process.

Mr. Sosa’s wife, Maria Sosa, has filed objections to the order. (Docs. 11, 12) She objects

that she is entitled to determine the disposition of Mr. Sosa Jr’s remains, that the autopsy is 

unnecessary because the Fresno County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy and that she 

disagrees to further desecration and mutilation of the body, that the private autopsy will delay 

the funeral, which will delay the ability of Mr. Sosa Jr.’s loved ones to begin the grieving

process, and because the plaintiffs’ have failed to provide details about the proposed private 

autopsy. Id. Though the Court is saddened for Mrs. Sosa and all of Mr. Sosa Jr.’s family for 

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their loss and for all of the additional pain that a private autopsy will impose, the Court

OVERRULES Mrs. Sosa’s objections.

First, the Court makes no finding about the status of Mrs. Sosa’s relationship to Mr. 

Sosa Jr. To the extent that there is a dispute on this topic, resolving it now is unnecessary

because the Court recognizes Mrs. Sosa’s significant interest in how Mr. Sosa Jr.’s body is 

treated. This order allowing the private autopsy to proceed is not intended to disparage any of 

Mrs. Sosa’s rights or to determine the rights of any party to inherit or to prosecute the estate’s 

case.

Second, the Court recognizes that the Fresno County Coroner’s Office has conducted an 

autopsy on the body. However, the Court’s experience in these types of matters is consistent 

with the authorities cited by the plaintiff’s request and in their response to the objections. In 

addition, the value of expert testimony is increased if the witness has examined the body. Thus, 

in fairness, the plaintiffs deserve to be able to gather needed evidence to prosecute this action. 

Also, the Court agrees that the fact that the autopsy determined the manner of death, this is a far 

cry from determining how Mr. Sosa Jr. died.

In addition, the suggestion that embalming and burial does not impact the ability to 

gather evidence is unsupported and is contrary to the evidence presented. In addition, if the 

body were buried and later exhumed, the distress imposed on loved ones would be magnified.

Third, the response to the objections sets forth the information that Mrs. Sosa desired. 

The plaintiffs have identified where the autopsy will occur and by whom and how long it will 

take, including that they will bear the costs associated with it.

Fourth, the plaintiffs report that the private autopsy will result in no additional 

disfigurement and that any delay to the funeral, scheduled for November 22, 2023, will be 

modest. The fact that the service is planned so far out poses the significant potential that no 

delay will occur at all.

For all of these reasons, the objections are OVERRULED. The Court’s order issued on 

November 8, 2023 is now effective. The plaintiffs SHALL immediately arrange for and have 

completed, the private autopsy. In addition, the plaintiffs SHALL serve Mrs. Sosa, Wallin 

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Funeral Home and the City of Fresno with this order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: November 14, 2023 

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