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OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
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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
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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