So, the Sheriff's Office took its own photos and then got the court order. Friday's events highlighted the confusion that some critics predicted would result from the law. Teresa Earnhardt pushed for the law after the Orlando Sentinel requested access to her husband's autopsy photos. The newspaper did not plan to publish the photos but wanted an independent medical expert to examine them. The aim was to establish how the race driver died during the final lap of the Daytona 500.
Medical examiners say the law has two loopholes.
One allows police to distribute their own photos for investigations, even if those photos are taken during autopsies. The other allows anyone to get the pictures from law enforcement once an investigation is closed. Both loopholes stem from the fact that the law deals strictly with photos in the custody of the medical examiner, they say. It's got nothing to do with the Earnhardt act. Brevard officials were troubled by a provision in the law that makes it apply to anyone assisting medical examiners, which they say includes deputies.