Judges: RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Filed Date: 7/22/1996
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Dear Dr. Traylor:
This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General in regard to the necessity of contacting you, as the coroner, directly in all matters pertaining to the coroner's office. You indicate you have developed a procedure designating two of your personnel to be called initially in case of deaths, substance abuse or requests for protective custody orders with the directive as to the procedure to contact you directly if these individuals, who are on call twenty-four hours per day, do not respond in a timely manner. However, there are some who insist on contacting you personally on every coroner's matter thereby prompting you to question whether the coroner must initially be contacted personally or whether the protocol you have prepared is acceptable.
In answer to your inquiry we respond on the basis that your established procedure requesting your assistants be initially contacted does not mean you are not subsequently contacted by them. As concluded in Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 95-38 and 38A, there are instances when the coroner himself must act as in signing an order for protective custody.
Based on this premise, we would conclude the procedure you have established is acceptable.
While we recognize that some statutory provisions provide that the coroner "shall" perform certain designated duties (R.S.
Consequently, we find your established procedure is acceptable, but must caution, it does not have the force of law to mandate compliance by those seeking to contact your office.
We hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry, but if we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely yours,
RICHARD P. IEYOUB Attorney General
By: ___________________________ BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE Assistant Attorney General
BBR
Date Received: July 3, 1996 Date Released:
BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE Assistant Attorney General