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REFERENCE TITLE: county medical examiner; identification protocol |
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State of Arizona Senate Fiftieth Legislature First Regular Session 2011
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SB 1118 |
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Introduced by Senator Barto
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AN ACT
amending title 11, chapter 3, article 12, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 11‑597.01; relating to county medical examiners.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 11, chapter 3, article 12, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 11-597.01, to read:
11-597.01. Duty to make positive identification; manner of positive identification; exception; definitions
A. The medical examiner shall make a positive identification of a dead person within seventy‑two hours of taking physical possession of the dead person unless extraordinary circumstances described in subsection B exist. In making a positive identification, the medical examiner shall determine the identity of a dead person by one of the following methods:
1. Fingerprint identification.
2. DNA analysis.
3. Dental record analysis.
4. Positive identification by at least one of the dead person's immediate family members if the dead person's body is in a physical condition that would allow for the dead person to be reasonably recognized.
B. For the purposes of subsection A, extraordinary circumstances exist if, after a thorough investigation, the medical examiner determines that identification of the dead person is not possible under any of the methods described in subsection A.
C. For the purposes of this section:
1. "DNA analysis" means an identification process in which the unique genetic code of an individual that is carried by the individual's deoxyribonucleic acid is compared to genetic codes carried in DNA found in bodily substance samples obtained by a law enforcement agency in the exercise of the law enforcement agency's investigative function.
2. "Immediate family member" means, with respect to a particular dead person, an individual who is at least eighteen years of age and who is one of the following:
(a) The dead person's spouse.
(b) The dead person's child.
(c) The dead person's parent.
(d) The dead person's grandparent.
(e) The dead person's sibling.
Sec. 2. Short title
This act may be cited as "Abby's Law".