District of Columbia § 5-1409 Examination; further investigation and autopsy.

District of Columbia Statutes

§ 5-1409 — Examination; further investigation and autopsy.

District of Columbia § 5-1409

Title 5Police, Firefighters, Medical Examiner, and Forensic Sciences.

Ch. 14Chief Medical Examiner.

This text of District of Columbia § 5-1409 (Examination; further investigation and autopsy.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

D.C. Code § 5-1409 (2026).

Text

(a)If, in the opinion of the CME, the cause and manner of death are established with a reasonable medical certainty, the CME shall complete a report of the medical examination of the decedent.

(b)If, in the opinion of the CME, or the United States Attorney, further investigation as to the cause or manner of death is required or the public interest so requires, a medical examiner shall either perform, or the CME shall arrange for a qualified pathologist to perform, an autopsy on the body of the decedent and to retain tissues and biological specimens deemed necessary to an investigation. No consent of the next of kin shall be required for an autopsy to be performed under this section.

(c)The medical examiner performing the autopsy shall make a complete record of the findings and conclus

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(a) If, in the opinion of the CME, the cause and manner of death are established with a reasonable medical certainty, the CME shall complete a report of the medical examination of the decedent.

(b) If, in the opinion of the CME, or the United States Attorney, further investigation as to the cause or manner of death is required or the public interest so requires, a medical examiner shall either perform, or the CME shall arrange for a qualified pathologist to perform, an autopsy on the body of the decedent and to retain tissues and biological specimens deemed necessary to an investigation. No consent of the next of kin shall be required for an autopsy to be performed under this section.

(c) The medical examiner performing the autopsy shall make a complete record of the findings and conclusions of any autopsy and shall prepare a report thereon.