Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

: . : OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN .. Honorable E. Y. Ounnlnghes county Auditor Havarro County cor3ioana, Texas Dear Stir Your letter of r of this department on the follms: ,~’ pointed HeaSh cm3 a monthly o’more oomoenaation or dutiee as*Health Okloer? to an extra ree in this kind the oorreot prooedure, and doe8 rney have the right to ordar an 0, Yernoa*a Annotated Code of Criminal “Upon an inquest held to asorrtain the oawe of death the juatios ahall, if he ,deens it neoeb- carp, oall in the oounty health orioer, or, if there be none, or it it be lnpraotioable to 860~1~ him oerv$oes, then soma regular j&ysioian, to make oa autoopoy in omlrrto drtemlm whothortho death wao oooaoloae6 by doloaoo~ and if 10, its aaturo o n6 lhamotorr The oounty la *ioh siloh laqmot and autopsyis hold ohall pay to tho phyoioiah nmk- ing ,moh autopsy a See o? not less than ten aoc aore than fiftydollars, the lxoeoemar ten dol- lan to be dotsoaiaod by thr oommioaionero oourt attsr aoorrtoloing the amount Md noture oi the work p~rfonmd :a lnaking ouoh autopry.” It will bo noted thatthe abon quoted otatoto au- thorizer ow tho Justieo ob the POaOo upoa iaquoot hold to aooortaia the oauoo of death, to oall in the eouaty health orrioor, of, ii, thoro bo aoao, or if it bo irmpraotioablo to oeouro hlo 00r~iOO0, thenoomo rOgul%r phyOiOi0!h, to mak0 aa autopsy in order .to detennino whather the death was oooaoionod by violonooj and i+ 80, lto nature and oharaotor. This otat- uto doom not authorixo the Diotriot Attomty to oall in the oouaty health ontloer or mm8 reeular phyoioiaa to msLe an au- tOROY. Wo have booa unable to find any otatuto authorizing the Dlotriot Attornoy to have the eouaty health orrlaor or OOPYotherphyoioiah to make en autopsy. Theroforo, it ia our opinion that tho Diotriot Attornoy. does not havo tho lo&al authority or pow6x to ordor an autopsy hold. Ultbor the faoto stated in your lnqqiry it is our fuzth8r opinion, that tha oountyhealthof-floor 11 not ontitled to any rxtn oompenoa- tit% for tho oor~Iooo porformod. Art1010 4423, Vomoa@o Aauotatod Civil Statutoo reads a< rollarr Vho oomaioolonoro oourt by a majority voto in oaah oqaniood oouaty shall bionaially appoint a proper perom for the offioa of oamty health orrloor for his oounty,, who @ml1 hold off100 for two years* Said oounty health orfloor shall toko aad oubooribo to tho oitloial oath, aad shall iilo a OORY of ouoh oath and a OORf or hio appointment with the Toxao Stat0Board of Eoalthfi and, until ou0h OOpiOo are 00 riled said orfloor ohall not bo deunod legally quallflod. Compoaoation of said oounty health ofiiorr ohall bo iixod by thr oawnibr oionero mat) protidotl, that no ooaponoatioa or salary ohall bo allond lxoopt for oor~loso aOblllll- ly rendorod.a 414 , . Honorable Z. Yr Curminehaq Pago 3 Nhotheror not a eouaty health otiioor la entitled to extra oompnsatlon~ for an autopsy road0 by him upon roqtroot oi thr fwtiom or tho Pea00 uwlrr Artlolo970, oupra, lo not bororr UI and wo lx~ooo no O&biOnS with reformno@ to tho *Sm.* This opinion nh@rrlr holds that tho Motriot AttO- my door not havo any legal authority or porrorto odor an Mtop@y hold and that undor thr faoto stated in your lrttor tho eoantyhealth oiiloor Io.:not entiflrd to any oompanoation iOr the 8on1008 ptimod b hl8 althou& ordorod or reqU88t- ld to prfona ouoh ,oonIooo 1; y the DiotriotAttoraq. Tnaotiq that tie izmiqblng ray anmom your la- w-r, we ore Yours vow truly ATTORIIEY MN.ERALOF TEXAS (@wcmd.k Blr Ardolf:~willlamo Assistant APPROVECAUG 4, 1942