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: 

: 

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

. . 

Honorable E. Y. Ounnlnghes 

county Auditor 

Havarro County 

cor3ioana, Texas 

Dear Stir 

Your letter of r 

of this department on the 

follms: ,~’ 

pointed HeaSh 

cm3 a monthly 

o’more oomoenaation or 

dutiee as*Health Okloer? 

to an extra ree in this kind 

the oorreot prooedure, and doe8 

rney have the right to ordar an 

0, Yernoa*a Annotated Code of Criminal 

“Upon an inquest held to asorrtain the oawe 

of death the juatios ahall, if he ,deens it neoebcarp, oall in the oounty health orioer, or, if 

there be none, or it it be lnpraotioable to 860~1~ 

him oerv$oes, then soma regular j&ysioian, to make 
oa autoopoy in omlrr to drtemlm whothor tho death 

wao oooaoloae6 by doloaoo~ and if 10, its aaturo 

o n6 l hamotorr The oounty la *ioh siloh laqmot 

and autopsy is hold ohall pay to tho phyoioiah nmking ,moh autopsy a See o? not less than ten aoc 

aore than fifty dollars, the l xoeoe mar ten dollan to be dotsoaiaod by thr oommioaionero oourt 

attsr aoorrtoloing the amount Md noture oi the 

work p~rfonmd :a lnaking ouoh autopry.” 

It will bo noted that the abon quoted otatoto authorizer ow tho Justieo ob the POaOo upoa iaquoot hold to 

aooortaia the oauoo of death, to oall in the eouaty health 

orrioor, of, ii, thoro bo aoao, or if it bo irmpraotioablo to 

oeouro hlo 00r~iOO0, then oomo rOgul%r phyOiOi0!h, to mak0 aa 

autopsy in order .to detennino whather the death was oooaoionod 

by violonooj and i+ 80, lto nature and oharaotor. This otatuto doom not authorixo the Diotriot Attomty to oall in the 

oouaty health ontloer or mm8 reeular phyoioiaa to msLe an autOROY. Wo have booa unable to find any otatuto authorizing 

the Dlotriot Attornoy to have the eouaty health orrlaor or 

OOPY other phyoioiah to make en autopsy. Theroforo, it ia 

our opinion that tho Diotriot Attornoy. does not havo tho lo&al 

authority or pow6x to ordor an autopsy hold. Ultbor the faoto 

stated in your lnqqiry it is our fuzth8r opinion, that tha 

oounty health of-floor 11 not ontitled to any rxtn oompenoatit% for tho oor~Iooo porformod. 

Art1010 4423, Vomoa@o Aauotatod Civil Statutoo 

reads a< rollarr 

Vho oomaioolonoro oourt by a majority voto 

in oaah oqaniood oouaty shall bionaially appoint 

a proper perom for the offioa of oamty health 

orrloor for his oounty,, who @ml1 hold off100 for 

two years* Said oounty health orfloor shall toko 

aad oubooribo to tho oitloial oath, aad shall iilo 

a OORY of ouoh oath and a OORf or hio appointment 

with the Toxao Stat0 Board of Eoalthfi and, until 

ou0h OOpiOo are 00 riled said orfloor ohall not 

bo deunod legally quallflod. Compoaoation of said 

oounty health ofiiorr ohall bo iixod by thr oawnibr 

oionero mat) protidotl, that no ooaponoatioa or 

salary ohall bo allond l xoopt for oor~loso aOblllllly rendorod.a 
414 

, . 

Honorable Z. Yr Curminehaq Pago 3 

Nhother or not a eouaty health otiioor la entitled 

to extra oompnsatlon~ for an autopsy road0 by him upon roqtroot 

oi thr fwtiom or tho Pea00 uwlrr Artlolo 970, oupra, lo not 

bororr UI and wo l x~ooo no O&biOnS with reformno@ to tho 

*Sm.* 

This opinion nh@rrlr holds that tho Motriot AttOmy door not havo any legal authority or porror to odor an 

Mtop@y hold and that undor thr faoto stated in your lrttor 

tho eoanty health oiiloor Io.:not entiflrd to any oompanoation 

iOr the 8on1008 ptimod b 

l d to prfona ouoh ,oonIooo 1; 

hl8 althou& ordorod or reqU88ty the Diotriot Attoraq. 

Tnaotiq that tie 

w-r, we ore 

izmiqblng ray anmom your laYours vow truly 

ATTORIIEY MN.ERAL OF TEXAS 

(@wcmd.k 

Blr 

Ardolf:~willlamo 

Assistant 

APPROVECAUG 4, 1942