To Be Published In The Official Reports Office Of The Attorney General
ANALYSIS
The question presented for analysis concerns access by police and district attorney investigators to the medical and psychiatric records of a deceased person that are in the possession of the county coroner. May the records be disclosed by the coroner without the issuance of a court order, search warrant, or subpoena duces tecum? The issue arises when the coroner determines that a person has died under circumstances which suggest that the death was a homicide, and the coroner must notify the appropriate law enforcement agency. Government Code section 27491.11 provides: “In all cases in which a person has died under such circumstances as to afford a reasonable ground to suspect that the person’s death has been occasioned by the act of another by criminal means, the coroner, upon determining that such reasonable grounds exist, shall immediately notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the criminal investigation. Notification shall be made by the most direct communication available. The report shall state the name of the......