By: Janek S.B. No. 356
(In the Senate - Filed February 4, 2003; February 11, 2003,
read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
April 10, 2003, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; April 10, 2003,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 356 By: Ratliff
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to forensic anthropologists and to an inquest when a body
part is found.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Article 49.04, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest into the
death of a person who dies in the county served by the justice if:
(1) the person dies in prison under circumstances
other than those described by Section 501.055(b), Government Code,
or in jail;
(2) the person dies an unnatural death from a cause
other than a legal execution;
(3) the body or a body part of a person is found, the
cause or circumstances of death are unknown, and:
(A) the person [body] is identified; or
(B) the person [body] is unidentified;
(4) the circumstances of the death indicate that the
death may have been caused by unlawful means;
(5) the person commits suicide or the circumstances of
the death indicate that the death may have been caused by suicide;
(6) the person dies without having been attended by a
physician;
(7) the person dies while attended by a physician who
is unable to certify the cause of death and who requests the justice
of the peace to conduct an inquest; or
(8) the person is a child younger than six years of age
and an inquest is required by Chapter 264, Family Code.
SECTION 2. Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Article 49.07,
Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A physician or other person who has possession of a body
or body part of a person whose death requires an inquest under
Article 49.04 of this code shall immediately notify the justice of
the peace who serves the precinct in which the body or body part was
found.
(b) A peace officer who has been notified of the death of a
person whose death requires an inquest under Article 49.04 of this
code shall immediately notify the justice of the peace who serves
the precinct in which the body or body part was found.
(c)(1) If the justice of the peace who serves the precinct
in which the body or body part was found is not available to conduct
an inquest, a person required to give notice under this article
shall notify the nearest available justice of the peace serving the
county in which the body or body part was found, and that justice of
the peace shall conduct the inquest.
(2) If no justice of the peace serving the county in
which the body or body part was found is available to conduct an
inquest, a person required to give notice under this article shall
notify the county judge, and the county judge shall initiate the
inquest. The county judge may exercise any power and perform any
duty otherwise granted to or imposed under this subchapter on the
justice of the peace serving the county in which the body or body
part was found, except that not later than the fifth day after the
day on which the inquest is initiated, the county judge shall
transfer all information obtained by the judge to the justice of the
peace in whose precinct the body or body part was found for final
disposition of the matter.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Article 49.09, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) If a body or body part subject to investigation under
Article 49.04 of this code is interred and an authorized person has
not conducted an inquest required under this subchapter, a justice
of the peace may direct the disinterment of the body or body part in
order to conduct an inquest.
SECTION 4. Subsection (n), Article 49.10, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(n) On discovering the body or a body part of a deceased
person in the circumstances described by Article 49.04(a)(3)(B),
the justice of the peace [medical examiner] may request the aid of a
forensic anthropologist in the examination of the body or body
part. The forensic anthropologist must hold a doctoral degree in
anthropology with an emphasis in physical anthropology [be eligible
for board certification by a nationally recognized association that
accredits practitioners in the forensic sciences]. The forensic
anthropologist shall attempt to establish whether the body or body
part is of a human or animal, whether evidence of childbirth,
injury, or disease exists, and the sex, race, age, stature, and
physical anomalies of the body or body part. The forensic
anthropologist may also attempt to establish the cause, manner, and
time of death.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Article 49.22, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) If a body or body part that is subject to an inquest
under Article 49.04 of this code is found on premises that were
under the sole control of the deceased, a justice of the peace or
other person authorized under this subchapter to conduct an inquest
may direct that the premises be locked and sealed to prohibit
entrance by any person other than a peace officer conducting an
investigation of the death.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 6, Article 49.25, Code
of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Any medical examiner, or his duly authorized deputy,
shall be authorized, and it shall be his duty, to hold inquests with
or without a jury within his county, in the following cases:
1. When a person shall die within twenty-four hours
after admission to a hospital or institution or in prison or in
jail;
2. When any person is killed; or from any cause dies an
unnatural death, except under sentence of the law; or dies in the
absence of one or more good witnesses;
3. When the body or a body part of a person is found,
the cause or circumstances of death are unknown, and:
(A) the person [body] is identified; or
(B) the person [body] is unidentified;
4. When the circumstances of the death of any person
are such as to lead to suspicion that he came to his death by
unlawful means;
5. When any person commits suicide, or the
circumstances of his death are such as to lead to suspicion that he
committed suicide;
6. When a person dies without having been attended by a
duly licensed and practicing physician, and the local health
officer or registrar required to report the cause of death under
Section 193.005, Health and Safety Code, does not know the cause of
death. When the local health officer or registrar of vital
statistics whose duty it is to certify the cause of death does not
know the cause of death, he shall so notify the medical examiner of
the county in which the death occurred and request an inquest;
7. When the person is a child who is younger than six
years of age and the death is reported under Chapter 264, Family
Code; and
8. When a person dies who has been attended
immediately preceding his death by a duly licensed and practicing
physician or physicians, and such physician or physicians are not
certain as to the cause of death and are unable to certify with
certainty the cause of death as required by Section 193.004, Health
and Safety Code. In case of such uncertainty the attending
physician or physicians, or the superintendent or general manager
of the hospital or institution in which the deceased shall have
died, shall so report to the medical examiner of the county in which
the death occurred, and request an inquest.
SECTION 7. Section 13, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 13. USE OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST. On discovering
the body or a body part of a deceased person in the circumstances
described by Subdivision 3(B) of Section 6(a), the medical examiner
may request the aid of a forensic anthropologist in the examination
of the body or body part. The forensic anthropologist must hold a
doctoral degree in anthropology with an emphasis in physical
anthropology [be board-certified by a nationally recognized
association that accredits practitioners in the forensic
sciences]. The forensic anthropologist shall attempt to establish
whether the body or body part is of a human or animal, whether
evidence of childbirth, injury, or disease exists, and the sex,
race, age, stature, and physical anomalies of the body or body part.
The forensic anthropologist may also attempt to establish the
cause, manner, and time of death.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to the discovery of a body part of a person that is made on or after
the effective date of this Act. A discovery made before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
discovery was made, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
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