Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 12 - LAW ENFORCEMENT, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND MILITARY AFFAIRS (§§ 12-1-101 — 12-88-109) › Subtitle 2 - LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS (§§ 12-6-101 — 12-20-301) › Chapter 12 - CRIME REPORTING AND INVESTIGATIONS (§§ 12-12-101 — 12-12-1906) › Subchapter 3 - STATE CRIME LABORATORY (§§ 12-12-301 — 12-12-327) › Section 12-12-318 - Examinations, investigations, and postmortem examinations - Authorization and restrictions

(a)
(1)
When death occurs in such a manner or under such circumstances as described in §
12-12-315
, the State Crime Laboratory shall have the power and authority to perform such functions and duties as may be provided by this subchapter.
(2)
(A)
The laboratory shall make examinations, investigations, or perform postmortem examinations to determine the cause of death as the Director of the State Crime Laboratory or his or her staff deems necessary or as may be requested by the:
(i)
County coroner of the county in which death occurs or is discovered;
(ii)
Prosecuting attorney of the jurisdiction in which death occurs or is discovered;
(iii)
County sheriff of the county in which death occurs or is discovered;
(iv)
Chief of police of the city in which death occurs or is discovered;
(v)
Board of Corrections or its designee, or the Director of the Division of Correction or his or her designee if the person was in the care, custody, or control of the Division of Correction at the time of death; or
(vi)
Director of the Division of Arkansas State Police or his or her designee.
(B)
Deputies of elected officers enumerated in subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section shall have no authority to request a postmortem examination by the laboratory.
(3)
(A)
(i)
The county coroner having jurisdiction where a death occurs should submit the decedent to the State Crime Laboratory for a postmortem examination in the following circumstances, which are based on national standards, unless there is sufficient antemortem medical and investigative information documented and available that would otherwise require a postmortem examination:
(a)
The death is known or suspected to have been caused by apparent criminal violence;
(b)
The death is sudden or unexpected and was not caused by a readily recognizable or documented disease;
(c)
The death is unexpected and unexplained in an infant or child less than eighteen (18) years of age;
(d)
The death is associated with police action;
(e)
The death is apparently nonnatural and occurred while the person was in the custody of a local, state, or federal institution;
(f)
The death is due to an acute workplace injury;
(g)
The death is due to apparent electrocution;
(h)
The death is caused by unwitnessed or suspected drowning;
(i)
The body is unidentified;
(j)
The body is skeletonized;
(k)
The body is charred; or
(l)
The death is of a pregnant female or a female who was pregnant within three hundred sixty-five (365) days of the female's death and the death is potentially related to the care of or physiology of pregnancy or the maintenance of the pregnancy, unless the death resulted from a medical condition or injury not causally related to the pregnancy.
(ii)
The State Crime Laboratory shall provide consultation by the State Medical Examiner to a county coroner to assist in determining if antemortem medical and investigative information is available to certify the cause and manner of death.
(B)
The county coroner having jurisdiction where a death occurs shall submit a decedent to the State Crime Laboratory for a postmortem examination when the death is by apparent drug, alcohol, or poison toxicity, unless a significant interval passed while the person was hospitalized and hospital evaluation is available for review.
(b)
(1)
In cases of sudden death in children between the ages of one (1) year and six (6) years with no previous major medical health problems, the State Medical Examiner, on a case-by-case basis, may delegate authority to the Arkansas Children's Hospital to perform postmortem examinations to determine the cause of death.
(2)
(A)
Should any such postmortem examination determine that death occurred from foul play or a criminal act, the hospital will immediately notify the chief law enforcement officer of the jurisdiction in which the death occurred and the examiner.
(B)
In addition, the examiner will be responsible for developing guidelines to assure that proper evidentiary procedures are followed.
(3)
For purposes of this section, the hospital's staff pediatric pathologist, meeting the criteria prescribed in §
12-12-307
, shall be considered assistant medical examiner and, notwithstanding any other provisions in this section, may perform postmortem examinations as directed by a duly constituted authority.
(c)
Postmortem examinations or investigations authorized in this section may be conducted without consent of any person.
(d)
The Director of the State Crime Laboratory and his or her staff shall not, as a part of their official duties, perform any postmortem examination at the request of any private citizen or any public official other than those enumerated in this section.
(e)
The provisions of this section shall supersede any and all other laws relating to the power and authority of the Director of the State Crime Laboratory or his or her staff, including the examiner, to conduct examinations, investigations, or postmortem examinations.
(f)
(1)
The Director of the State Crime Laboratory shall have the final authority on any ruling of manner of death which may become a matter of dispute between those persons authorized by this section to request a postmortem examination as described in §
12-12-315
and the examiner or his or her associates.
(2)
The Director of the State Crime Laboratory shall use any and all material accumulated by the laboratory, interview all parties necessary, and consult with any medical authority necessary for him or her to make his or her decision as to the manner of death, and his or her ruling shall be final and binding as that ruling affects any documents generated and signed by any employee of the laboratory relating to manner of death.
(3)
This subsection and the Director of the State Crime Laboratory's decision in no way affect or prohibit any person or agency to seek any other relief that may be available through legal channels.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 553,§ 2, eff. 8/1/2023.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 5852, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 5851, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 5850, eff. 7/1/2019.
Acts 1969, No. 321, § 6; 1973, No. 509, § 2; 1975, No. 736, § 1; 1979, No. 864, § 11; 1981, No. 65, § 1; 1985, No. 644, § 3; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 42-616, 42-1213; Acts 1993, No. 178, § 1; 1995, No. 1151, § 5; 1997, No. 422, § 1.