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Re: medical examiner records



Barbara Allen posted a series of questions about records created by a
physician who served as a Massachusetts town's medical examiner.  She asked:

Can any of you tell me about death records of this type?

A. I have in my Records Center several thousand cubic feet of autopsy
records for the Harris County, TX Medical Examiner for nearly 50 years and a
smaller quantity of inquest records created by Harris County Justices of the
Peace dating back another 50 years.  They are extremely important for legal
purposes and we frequently pull 20+year old autopsies when "cold cases" are
reviewed and when sentences are appealed.  We sometimes pull older autopsies
and inquests for genealogists and historians.

These records are very important and you should ensure that they are
preserved.

Are they public records?  Do they belong
to the doctor or the town?  If we do end up with them in our collection, is
the information open to the public or should we close them for a number of
years?  Is there a period of time set by law?

A. The answers to these questions will be peculiar to Massachusetts and
Texas law is irrelevant.  In Texas, FWIW, inquests are open records although
any evidence (e.g. suicide notes, tissue samples, weapons) associated with
the case is not part of these files.

Barbara, if you have any other questions about these records I invite you to
contact me off the list.

Paul R. Scott
Records Management Officer
Harris County, TX

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