Supreme court justice Antonin Scalia dies: EXPECT ATTACK ON 2ND AMMENDMENT

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/feb/13/supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia-dead-at-79

Supreme court justice Antonin Scalia dies: political and legal worlds react

• Supreme court justice, 79, found dead at Texas ranch
  
• Obama confirms he will nominate replacement
  

• Republicans indicate severe fight to come over Scalia replacement
  
• Obituary: Antonin Scalia, 1936-2016
  

Antonin Scalia is dead at 79
Martin Pengelly in New York, Ben Jacobs in Greenville, South Carolina and Dan Roberts and Alan Yuhas in Washington DC
Saturday 13 February 2016 22.12 EST Last modified on Saturday 13 February 2016 22.18 EST


Antonin Scalia, the staunchly conservative supreme court justice, has died at the age of 79, prompting an immediate political struggle over the future direction of the United States, even as tributes were being paid to honor his service.

Analysis Antonin Scalia is gone – now an epic political battle looms large
Senate Republicans quick to indicate refusal of any Obama nomination as partisan split set to deepen in final year of presidency

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As the stars and stripes were lowered to half-staff outside the court, and the chief justice, John Roberts, confirmed Scalia’s death, political leaders on both sides of the partisan divide staked out their positions in the fierce fight to come over the nomination of his replacement.
President Obama praised Scalia as a “brilliant legal mind” who was “one of the towering legal figures of our time” and “one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the supreme court”.
But in a brief statement on Saturday night, he also responded to Republican threats to block Scalia’s replacement by warning they risked undermining a cornerstone of US democracy.
“I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor in due time,” he said, during a weekend trip to Palm Springs. Obama, who is in the final year of his presidency, said: “There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote.”
“These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone, they are bigger than anyone party; they are about our democracy. They are about the institution to which justice Scalia dedicated his professional life and making sure it continues to function as the beacon of justice that our founders envisaged.”
Before Obama spoke, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the next president should be the one to nominate a replacement to a court which is now evenly balanced between four liberal and four conservative justices.
With issues ranging from immigration reform and climate change on the court’s agenda – and issues like abortion and gun control being fought over in the lower courts – the next appointment is pivotal.
The president’s nomination must be passed with the votes of at least 60 of the 100 members of the Republican-controlled Senate.
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McConnell’s statement followed a more rancorous outburst from Conn Carroll, communications director for Mike Lee of Utah, a Tea Party-backed member of the Senate judiciary committee. Carroll used Twitter to say: “What is less than zero? The chances of Obama successfully appointing a supreme court justice to replace Scalia?”
He added: “If anything this will put a full stop to all Obama judicial nominees going forward.”
Prior to their debate in South Carolina on Saturday night, Republican presidential candidates followed suit. The Texas senator Ted Cruz, a leading contender who clerked in the supreme court while Scalia was on the bench, said on Twitter: “Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, [and] the nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next president names his replacement.”
Like other candidates, Cruz has used fiery rhetoric about the court and conservative touchstones while on the campaign trail. In Iowa recently, prior to winning the state’s caucus by capturing the evangelical vote, he said: “We are one justice away from the supreme court taking away every single restriction on abortion and mandating abortion on demand … up to the moment of birth.”
From the Democratic side of the Senate, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the judicial committee, issued a sharply worded rebuke.

Quote :

The Republicans… who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our constitution
Hillary Clinton

Saying he was saddened by the death of Scalia “although I often did not agree with his legal opinions”, Leahy continued: “I hope that no one will use this sad news to suggest that the president or the Senate should not perform its constitutional duty.
“The American people deserve to have a fully functioning supreme court. The supreme court of the United States is too important to our democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons. It is only February. The president and the Senate should get to work without delay to nominate, consider and confirm the next justice to serve on the supreme court.”
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The presidential candidate Hillary Clinton went further, saying: “The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our constitution. The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons.”
McConnell, however, is likely to point to the so-called “Thurmond rule” as precedent for his attempt to block confirmation. This non-binding Senate tradition of resisting supreme court appointments in the final months of a presidency dates from Senator Strom Thurmond’s opposition to a court nomination by Lyndon Johnson in 1968.
The White House will no doubt argue that nine months before an election is a period of time that falls outside even this somewhat vague rule.
More importantly, both sides will be eyeing the pending court decision on Obama’s immigration action, which could be blocked indefinitely if there was a 4-4 split on the court.
The president’s unilateral move to allow millions of undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation was first challenged by a Texas court and upheld by a federal appeals court, whose ruling will stand if the supreme court cannot decide one way or another.
While the Thurmond rule would not provide the definitive victory Republicans once hoped for, anything that prevents what they see as immigration “amnesty” from taking root before Obama leaves would be worth dragging heels for.



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The Supreme Court justices pose for a group photo in 2010. Seated, from left are, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Standing, from left, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito Jr and Elena Kagan. Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Analysis Antonin Scalia's death calls supreme court gun rights stance into question
Justice who has died suddenly at age 79 wrote controversial opinion on historic firearms case District of Columbia v Heller

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The San Antonio Express News reported that Scalia was found dead on Saturday morning at a ranch in the Big Bend region of Texas, south of Marfa, and said he had been discovered to have died after not attending a breakfast. Local ABC affiliate KVIA reported that Scalia died in his sleep after a day of quail hunting.
The news prompted mourning from conservatives, honors from attorneys and a mix of respectful comment, unreserved scorn and and political bickering among everyone else – a reflection of the colorful supreme court justice’s power to polarize the country.
Scalia was appointed to the court in 1986, by President Ronald Reagan, as the first Italian American to serve on the high court. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1936 and brought up in New York City. From private practice and academia, he entered public service during the Nixon administration, and became an appeals court judge under Reagan.
His written rulings and opinions, often expressed in witty yet forthright terms, divided observers and infuriated liberals. He dissented, for example, in the 2015 case which legalised same-sex marriage across the US. He also caused controversy with comments about race and healthcare.
Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the case that made same-sex marriage legal around the US last year – a decision for which Scalia made a vitriolic dissent – tweeted his condolences. “Thank you for your service to our country, Justice Scalia,” he wrote. “Condolences to your family and friends.”

Quote :

Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patriot, and an unswerving defender of the written constitution and the rule of law,
Texas governor Greg Abbott

Chief justice Roberts quickly noted his admiration for the late judge, who was close if unlikely friends with the liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and their fellows on the court. Scalia was an “extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues”, Roberts said.
“His passing is a great loss to the country and the court he served.”
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, a strongly conservative Republican, issued a statement that dripped with conservative priorities and rhetoric.
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“Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patriot, and an unswerving defender of the written constitution and the rule of law,” he said.
“He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution. His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans.”
Republican presidential contenders paid tribute. In a statement, a spokeswoman for Donald Trump, the frontrunner, said: “Justice Scalia was a remarkable person and a brilliant supreme court justice, one of the best of all time.
“His career was defined by his reverence for the constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans’ most cherished freedoms.”
Senator Marco Rubio said: “One of the greatest honors in my life was to attend oral arguments during Town of Greece v Galloway and see Justice Scalia eloquently defend religious freedom. I will hold that memory forever.”
Cruz indicated his own conservative stance on how the constitution should be interpreted when he said: “As liberals and conservatives alike would agree, through his powerful and persuasive opinions, Justice Scalia fundamentally changed how courts interpret the constitution and statutes, returning the focus to the original meaning of the text after decades of judicial activism.”



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President Ronald Reagan announces the nomination of Antonin Scalia to the supreme court in September 1986. William Rehnquist is at right. Photograph: Ron Edmonds/AP

'Pure applesauce': Antonin Scalia's most biting supreme court opinion lines

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Cruz also called Scalia’s time on the court “one of President Reagan’s most consequential legacies”, and said: “Our prayers are with his beloved wife Maureen, their nine children, and their precious grandchildren.”
Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, said Scalia’s “logic and wit were unparalleled, and his decisions were models of clarity and good sense”. His brother, former president George W Bush, said Scalia was a “towering figure and important judge”.
On the Democratic side of the ledger, Senator Bernie Sanders said: “While I differed with Justice Scalia’s views and jurisprudence, he was a brilliant, colorful and outspoken member of the supreme court.”
Chuck Schumer, the influential senator from New York, said Scalia had been “a great son of Queens with a genuine joy for life”.
The somber tone of elected officials was not uniformly reflected in the general public. The journalist Glenn Greenwald summed up the mood among many critics of the justice in a tweet: “Don’t even try to enforce the inapplicable don’t-speak-ill-of-the-dead ‘rule’ for the highly polarizing, deeply consequential Antonin Scalia.”

http://m.mysanantonio.com/news/us-world/article/Senior-Associate-Justice-Antonin-Scalia-found-6828930.php?cmpid=twitter-desktop

Even worse, the headline on Newsmax that just came in an email was Scalia's Death Saves Unions From Momentous Ruling Ending Political Power
It seems apparent he was taken out...

Quote :

As the nation and official Washington prepared to mourn the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, watchers of the high court began to assess the immediate impact of his death on several pending cases whose decisions might have had momentous political implications.

Among these is Friedrichs v. California Teacher’s Association, set to have been a landmark case regarding the mandatory collection of union dues and their use for political purposes. The ruling could have meant the death knell of collective bargaining and the political might of America’s unions.

After oral arguments in the case in January, The Washington Post indicated the court’s conservative majority, including Scalia, were leaning to rule against the unions ability to collect mandatory dues.

But Scalia’s passing – and the news that the Republic-led Senate will likely not confirm an Obama nominee — means such cases could up with 4-4 decisions. Lacking a majority, the lower court’s rulings will stand.

In the Friedrichs case, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in favor of the teacher’s union.

Had the Supreme Court ruled that union dues could not be used for political purposes, it would have dealt a major blow to one of the Democratic party’s most powerful assets.

Another key case is U.S. v. Texas, in which opponents challenged the legality of the president’s executive orders dealing with illegal immigrants.

Signs are now strong that it will be decided at the lower court level and the Supreme Court will not deal with it.

But court experts suggest that Chief Justice John Roberts could potentially push through rulings in cases like Friedrichs, where oral arguments were heard, using Scalia’s vote.

"Supreme Court justices take a vote on a case at their meetings that they hold immediately after oral argument," Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Newsmax, "So on cases that have already been argued, even if no opinion has been written yet, the chief justice has an obligation to include Justice Scalia's vote in those cases.”

But, he added, "unfortunately, in other cases where no vote has yet been taken, we may get tied votes — which means the lower court decisions will stand. That means that a number of controversial issues will have to be brought back to the court in new cases when there are nine justices."

Not all legal experts agree with the view Roberts could issue a decision using Scalia’s vote.

"Unless a justice is sitting at the court at the time of argument and at the time the decision is issued, the justice's vote doesn't count," Samuel Bagenstos, a University of Michigan Law Professor who clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, told NBC News.

http://dcwhispers.com/justice-scalia-dies-at-ranch-resort-owned-by-democrat-party-donor-obama-award-winner/




Justice Scalia Dies At Ranch Resort Owned By Democrat Party Donor & Obama Award Winner
Posted on February 14, 2016 by DCWhispers

Read more at http://dcwhispers.com/justice-scalia-dies-at-ranch-resort-owned-by-democrat-party-donor-obama-award-winner/#PQFYAcoV15FD7Gvv.99


Coincidence?
That will be for you the readers to decide.
The photo below is Barack Obama shaking hands with a man by the name of John Poindexter, a Texas millionaire businessman also noted for being a donor to the Democrat Party and who also received an award from Barack Obama related to his military service in Vietnam.
Poindexter is the owner of the very Cibolo Creek Ranch Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead at earlier this week.
image: http://assets.bizjournals.com/story_image/1234491*750.jpg?v=2

Read more at http://dcwhispers.com/justice-scalia-dies-at-ranch-resort-owned-by-democrat-party-donor-obama-award-winner/#PQFYAcoV15FD7Gvv.99

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/02/dems_in_senate_passed_a_resolution_in1960_against_election_year_supreme_court_appointments.html

February 14, 2016
Dems in Senate passed a resolution in1960 against election year Supreme Court appointments
By Thomas Lifson

Read it and weep, Democrats. The shoe is on the other foot. David Bernstein at the Washington Post’s Volokh Conspiracy blog:

Quote :

 Thanks to a VC commenter, I discovered that in August 1960, the Democrat-controlled Senate passed a resolution, S.RES. 334, “Expressing the sense of the Senate that the president should not make recess appointments to the Supreme Court, except to prevent or end a breakdown in the administration of the Court’s business.”  Each of President Eisenhower’s SCOTUS appointments had initially been a recess appointment who was later confirmed by the Senate, and the Democrats were apparently concerned that Ike would try to fill any last-minute vacancy that might arise with a recess appointment.

The GOP opposed this, of course. Hypocrisy goes two ways. But the majority won.
As it should this time.
Update: Don't forget Chuck Schumer

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/02/dems_in_senate_passed_a_resolution_in1960_against_election_year_supreme_court_appointments.html#ixzz40HEdp7zV

https://www.intellihub.com/antonin-scalia-found-dead-pillow-head-justice-decides-autopsy-without-seeing-body/


Antonin Scalia found dead with pillow over his head, Justice decides against autopsy without seeing body!

Mainstream media already attacking anyone who questions Scalia's death

By Alex Thomas -
February 15, 2016



(INTELLIHUB) — Two days after the untimely death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia questions are beginning to mount as to what actually happened at the Cibolo Creek Ranch where Scalia was found dead of what is being reported as “natural causes”.
Almost immediately after his death, official sources and mainstream media talking heads began to report that there was no sign of foul play and that the famed conservative justice had most likely died alone in his room after retiring from dinner early the night before.
Now, that narrative is being thrown into serious question after revelations that Scalia was found with a pillow over his head and that Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara actually decided against ordering an autopsy without even seeing the body.
That’s right, a Supreme Court Justice was found dead and the justice of the peace who was contacted didn’t even actually see the body, having instead been assured by officials on the scene that there was no foul play involved. Nope, not suspicious at all…..
WFAA 8 News reported:

Quote :

She planned to drive to the ranch — about 30 minutes south of Marfa — but returned when a U.S. Marshal told her by phone: “It’s not necessary for you to come, judge. If you’re asking for an autopsy, that’s what we need to clarify.”

Judge Guevara said she wanted to clarify details of Scalia’s death before deciding whether to order an autopsy.

“As part of my investigation one of the things I did ask the sheriff and the U.S. Marshal: ‘Were there any signs of foul play? And they said, ‘Absolutely not.’ At that time, I still wanted to be careful and asked them if [Scalia’s] physician would call me.”

The justice’s personal doctor called Guevara at 8 p.m. Saturday night

“When [the physician] explained [Scalia] had just visited on Wednesday and Thursday, and [the doctor] had done an MRI, then I felt comfortable what I knew was going on with him physically,” she said.

So literally one of the most important human beings in American law is found dead and we are just supposed to take the word of a sheriff and still unnamed U.S. Marshals?!?
And while the mainstream media is using every bit of misinformation in their playbook to pretend that this was totally normal, it in fact was not and another justice of the peace has already called Guevara’s decision into question.
Speaking with the Washington Post, Juanita Bishop made clear that if she had been called she would not have decided that no autopsy was needed for one of the most important figures in America without even seeing the body.
“If it had been me . . . I would want to know,” Bishop told The Post.
Startlingly, this is not the only serious issue in the narrative that says Scalia died from natural causes as it is now being reported that when he was found dead in his bedroom he actually had a pillow over his face! This is being reported in multiple one line sentences within major reports on the justices death as if it was just a random, unimportant detail.
“We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled,” said Houston businessman John Poindexter, the owner of the 30,000-acre luxury ranch, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Poindexter goes on to describe Scalia as looking like he was resting peacefully, apparently unaware that a pillow over the mans head looks extremely suspicious.
These important details may only be the tip of the iceberg as it has been barely two days since Scalia’s death and a counter narrative to what actually took place is already beginning to form.
You would think that the mainstream press would be all over a story with such significance. A Supreme Court Justice found dead under highly suspicious circumstances? That has Pulitzer Prize written all over it yet for their part the mainstream media has simply reported the details as given to them by authorities while focusing a good portion of their time actually attacking anyone who questions Scalia’s death.
While many hit pieces and snarky Twitter updates lampooning anyone who questions the official narrative have already been published, one stands out for its audacity to just straight up lie about the person they are attacking.
Self described Zionist liberal JE Reich, possibly hoping to get the attention of a bigger mainstream news outlet, (I mean really, who’s journalistic goals would end at writing for a rag like Jezebel?) decided to attack famed alternative media personality Alex Jones after he posted a Facebook video questioning whether or not Scalia was killed.
What makes this attack so unbelievable is that it starts out with a paragraph that directly and, seemingly purposefully, lies about Jones, even providing links that actually show it to be pure nonsense.
Reich wrote:

Quote :

Noted conspiracy theorist, Illuminati-believer, racist and “lovable” anti-Semite Alex Jones has made yet another grab for the spotlight. After reports of the passing of conservative U.S. Supreme Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, the founder of the site InfoWars.com said he believes that Scalia was murdered in a government plot that makes Scandal look like the most boring fairy tale.

WOW. So right off the bat Reich is signalling to her readers that only a racist anti-Semite would question Scalia’s death so therefore we should all just ignore everything he is saying and instead make fun of him.
Reich hyperlinks the words racist and anti-Semite in an apparent attempt to “prove” her slanderous claims but when you actually click on the links they do not take you to any sort of proof at all. One is of a video from a hard left organization that literally puts together multiple different clips from Jones radio show in an attempt to prove he is a racist. Even with the video being purposefully taken out of context, Jones says nothing a normal person would consider racist.
Worse, the second link takes the reader to a Forbes article describing who Jones is that doesn’t call him an anti-Semite at all. In fact, the only part of the entire article that even deals with the topic is in a description of Charlie Sheen’s appearance on his radio show that led to Sheen getting fired from CBS. The author of the Forbes piece writes:

Quote :

For the record, Jones himself has long taken pains to distance himself from overt anti-Semitism or racism of any kind.

Essentially a writer for the hipster feminist website Jezebel just decided to call Jones names with absolutely no proof in an attempt to stop readers from even considering if Scalia was murdered.
While only one example, the hit piece by Reich is a perfect example of how the mainstream media operates which is to attack the messenger with lies and misinformation whenever said messenger is speaking about something the powers that be do not want widely believed.
To recap, Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead at a luxury ranch in Texas. Instead of examining the body to decide if an autopsy was needed, the justice of the peace made the decision over the phone after the feds “told her” there was no foul play. To top it off, Scalia was found dead with a pillow over his head.
All this in only two days yet the mainstream media is already busy at work writing hit pieces that lie and misinform the public about news outlets who are questioning the official narrative.
Its also extremely important to note that the death of Scalia is literally one of the most important happenings in decades. His death could allow the hard left to install a justice that will be the deciding vote in multiple moves to completely gut the Constitution.
Obviously there was a major motive for murdering him.

EARLY AS 1975
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwy56QTV4cs

http://www.prisonplanet.com/former-intel-officer-suspects-foul-play-in-death-of-antonin-scalia.html

Former Intel Officer Suspects Foul Play in Death of Antonin Scalia

• 
  

“Who dies with a pillow over their head?”
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
February 15, 2016

In a related development, William O. Ritchie, former head of criminal investigations for D.C. police, wrote that he was “stunned that no autopsy was ordered for Justice Scalia”.
“How can the Marshal say, without a thorough post mortem, that he was not injected with an illegal substance that would simulate a heart attack,” asked Ritchie.
“Did the US Marshal check for petechial hemorrhage in his eyes or under his lips that would have suggested suffocation? Did the US Marshal smell his breath for any unusual odor that might suggest poisoning? My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08CevpXDVlA

http://www.prisonplanet.com/obama-may-use-nuclear-option-to-appoint-a-supreme-court-justice.html


Obama May Use “Nuclear Option” to Appoint a Supreme Court Justice

• 
  

Obama’s past constitutional violations pave the way for liberal domination of the highest court
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
February 15, 2016

Despite the authority granted under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, Obama said he will not use the so-called “nuclear option” and make a recess appointment to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who died under suspicious circumstances over the weekend.
“Given that the Senate is currently in recess, we don’t expect the President to rush this through this week, but instead will do so in due time once the Senate returns from their recess,” said White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz on Sunday. “At that point, we expect the Senate to consider that nominee, consistent with their responsibilities laid out in the United States Constitution.”
It was widely speculated following Scalia’s death Obama would make a recess appointment to avoid opposition by Senate Republicans.
Democrats, led by Minority Leader Harry Reid, are demanding Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell take up a nominee posthaste. They are using Republican intransigence and a threat to filibuster suggested by Texas Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz to harm McConnell’s chances for reelection this year. Two other Republican candidates, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson, also said the replacement should be postponed until after the election.
“The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,” McConnell said in a statement.
The Republican leadership points out that no president in over 80 years has acted upon a Supreme Court nomination within his final year in office.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t
  
  
  

Despite Schultz’s remark, Obama may make a recess appointment to circumvent Republicans. The Senate is in recess until noon on February 22 and the only way to call it back into session is with the concurrence of the Democrat Minority Leader, Harry Reid.
“Somehow I doubt Sen. Reid will grant such concurrence to reconvene, should President Obama decide to use this 10-day recess to make a recess appointment and replace Justice Scalia. But should President Obama try use this particular 10-day recess to replace Justice Scalia, the replacement would only be constitutionally permitted to serve until the end of the next session,” writes Glenn Reynolds of InstaPundit. The One Hundred Fifteenth United States Congress ends January 3, 2017.
Recess appointments to the judiciary are less common than appointments to the Executive Branch and undermine the spirit of the Constitution and the principles established by the founders.
“The framers wanted a president and the Senate to come to an accord on such appointments, including the need to compromise to achieve such goals,” writes legal scholar and professor of law at The George Washington University Law School, Jonathan Turley. “Obama, however, made it clear years ago that he was willing to go it alone when Congress failed to give him legislation or confirmations that he demanded. His unilateral actions have already produced a constitutional crisis over the fundamental guarantees of the separation of powers. This includes a unanimous 2014 decision of the Supreme Court that Obama violated the recess appointments clause in his circumvention of the Senate.”
Partisan bickering over the issue has provided an ideal opportunity for Obama to make a recess appointment and thus attempt to push through a litany of monumental judicial decisions, including decisions on the Second Amendment, Obamacare, abortion and immigration.
This article was posted: Monday, February 15, 2016 at 12:36 pm

http://shoebat.com/2016/02/15/93385/



Justice Scalia Was Found Dead With A Pillow Over His Head, And His Body Was Just Cremated, Destroying Any Chance Of An Autopsy

By Ted on February 15, 2016 in Featured, General
By Theodore Shoebat

I know there is no such thing as coincidence in military engagements and none in politics.
I spent 6 years in the military and
spent that time with the earliest core of special operations, M.A.C. V
S.O.G. I know there is no such thing as coincidence in military
engagements and none in politics. Was it not Hillary Clinton who said last
month she would have no problem nominating Obama for the Supreme court?
What are the chances, this was not a coincidence, I now know a message has
been sent but as yet I don't know to whom !

http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2016/02/16/the-motive-behind-the-murder-of-justice-scalia/

The Motive Behind the Murder of Justice Scalia
16 Feb, 2016 by Dave Hodges
Print this article Font size -16+

I was a day late and a dollar short in terms of my timing in weighing in on the death of Supreme Court Justice Scalia. On the first day following his death, I just did not feel that there was enough evidence to fall in line with many others who were calling this a murder as opposed to death of natural causes. At least that is how I felt until I discovered that Scalia did not have an autopsy and his body was cremated.
At the end of the day, I will not be a day late on the motive behind the murder of a Supreme Court Justice. Once the facts supporting that there should have been a murder investigation complete with a full autopsy, I immediately knew the motive because I had extensively written about this over several years ago.
A senior government official, a Supreme Court Justice, is dead. And how is it being treated? The body and subsequent investigation into the death of Justice Scalia has been handled with all the professionalism of putting a rabid dog to sleep. Despite being found by John Poindexter, dead on his bed, with a pillow over his head, there will no investigation.
Under these circumstances, how could an autopsy not be performed on a senior government official? And to add insult to injury, Scalia’s body was moved to Sunset Funeral Homes and was promptly cremated. But the body was not cremated until Judge Guevara determined that Scalia died of heart attack. Did I say Judge Guevara, or Dr. Guevera. And Guevera, a judge, determined that Scalia died as a result of a heart attack, with an autopsy, and a doctor present, or an RN in attendance……
Originally, Scalia did meet up with his would-be hunting companions. When found by Poindexter, Scalia was still in his daytime clothes from the night before. Shouldn’t Supreme Court Justices have bodyguards?
 
One of the most amazing facts surrounding this “mystery death” is that Scalia’s body was cremated before an autopsy could be performed. Cremated? Wasn’t Scalia a Catholic? The last time I heard, Catholics do not sanction cremations. The regulations against cremation is one of the strongest within the Catholic Church.However, criminals with something to hide frequently burn the body after the commission of a crime. This fact, alone, should have triggered a major murder investigation. Where is Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, when she is needed the most? Did Obama send flowers to the widow yet? Charred bodies yield no autopsy clues.
Scalia was the Supreme Court’s staunchest opponent to the progressive agenda. He demolished last summer’s gay marriage ruling in a scathing 9-page scathing report authored by Scalia.
With Scalia out of the way, limits on free speech will be restored; “the Supreme Court will render the Second Amendment meaningless by reinterpreting the right to bear arms as a non-personal right; freedom of religion will be made subservient to same-sex marriage and abortion priorities; the death penalty will be ruled unconstitutional; unions will be allowed to continue confiscating the dollars of people who disagree with them politically.” However, these are not the reasons that Scalia was murdered.
Like it or not, I completely agree with Michael Savage that Scalia was likely murdered.

Quote :

“We had a razor-thin savior of the conservative, or, shall I say traditional, ways in America, Antonin Scalia, who was found dead under suspicious circumstances,” he said. “And now this character in the White House who nobody with a rational mind should trust is trying to railroad Loretta Lynch down our throats … as his number one choice. Can you believe this?”

Obama was put into office for one reason and one reason only. He was put into office to end capitalism, private property ownership and the individual’s right to self-determination. This is all accomplished through Agenda 21 and ultimately what Patrick Wood calls technocracy. Technocracy is the take over of all energy use, thus, ultimately, all finance, through programs such as capping CO2 emission, Cap and Trade, etc.  Carbon credits, under this system is destined to become the new currency.
When Obama was first elected, he attempted to introduce legislation into the Senate which would have reduced energy output for the United States by 80%. Even the then liberal Senate promptly rejected his proposal. That defeat set Obama into another strategy of implementation, it would have to happen piecemeal and some of the change would have to be implemented at the local level (eg California’s Cap and Trade program). However, the change for this President’s ego did not come fast enough because we are in the final year of Obama’s presidency and he has not completed his main task and HIS ENTIRE CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVE WAS REJECTED BY THE CONSERVATIVE MEMBERS OF THE SUPREME COURT BY A 5-4 DEFEAT!!! Scalia was the main opponent. 
This defeat of Obama’s entire climate change initiative should not be overlooked as it puts the United States in direct collision course with the United Nations’ recent COP 21 agreements in Paris, which was blocked in a 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court, only last week. Again, Justice Scalia was the main opponent. This fact alone should have provided the impetus to conduct an INDEPENDENT autopsy on Scalia’s body.
But as they say in the infomercials, there’s more….
Following the Gulf oil explosion in 2010, I wrote a seven part series entitled The Great Gulf Coast Holocaust. It was in that series that I discovered the unmistakable reason that Obama was made president.
Obama (when he was still a still a State Senator in Illinois), Valerie Jarrett and Al Gore headed a group known as the Joyce Foundation. The Joyce Foundation was designed to promote acceptance for carbon trading schemes which could be linked back to George Soros and Al Gore. The intent, as I have previously mentioned was to gain control over the entire economy. The Joyce Foundation eventually set up the Chicago Climate Exchange which was nation’s first bona fide carbon trading company. When Obama’s original carbon trading scheme was rejected in the Senate in 2009, the organization collapsed financially. But Obama’s dream of technocracy did not die with it.
The Joyce Foundation was also instrumental in bringing together NALCO, Goldman Sachs and the EPA in allowing the oil dispersant, Corexit, to be used in the Gulf even though, for health reasons, it had been banned by virtually the entire G20 nations. The conspiracy trail is mighty when it comes to Obama and his pre-presidential years and his complicity into the climate change issue. It was when Obama first became involved in the Joyce Foundation that George Soros, David Rockefeller and company backed this relative unknown for President. By the way, the late Bob Chapman and I both covered how Obama benefited from the use of Corexit through his Vanguard Investment funds (I and II). The link to this claim is listed above.
After I read volumes of material on the Joyce Foundation, it was easy to conclude that Obama was chosen to be President because he would virtually hand over the entire economy to a few wealthy bankers under the guise of climate change. The historical parallel matches why the banksters in 1912 backed Woodrow Wilson for President. The following year, the nation’s banking system was handed over the Rockefellers and their merry gang of banksters and the rest is history.
Scalia was the major impediment to Obama completing his legacy of ushering in technocracy. This, alone, is motive for murder. And when an autopsy is not conducted on a Supreme Court Justice, and then his “Catholic” body his cremated, we should all be more than suspicious.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CR/htm/CR.49.htm

CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

TITLE 1. CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 49. INQUESTS UPON DEAD BODIES


SUBCHAPTER A. DUTIES PERFORMED BY JUSTICES OF THE PEACE


Art. 49.01. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
(1) "Autopsy" means a post mortem examination of the body of a person, including X-rays and an examination of the internal organs and structures after dissection, to determine the cause of death or the nature of any pathological changes that may have contributed to the death.
(2) "Inquest" means an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the death of a person, and a determination, made with or without a formal court hearing, as to whether the death was caused by an unlawful act or omission.
(3) "Inquest hearing" means a formal court hearing held to determine whether the death of a person was caused by an unlawful act or omission and, if the death was caused by an unlawful act or omission, to obtain evidence to form the basis of a criminal prosecution.
(4) "Institution" means any place where health care services are rendered, including a hospital, clinic, health facility, nursing home, extended-care facility, out-patient facility, foster-care facility, and retirement home.
(5) "Physician" means a practicing doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine who is licensed by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Subsec. (5) amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 72, Sec. 1, eff. May 9, 1989; Subsec. (5) amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 14.737, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.




Art. 49.02. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies to the inquest into a death occurring in a county that does not have a medical examiner's office or that is not part of a medical examiner's district.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.03. POWERS AND DUTIES. The powers granted and duties imposed on a justice of the peace under this article are independent of the powers and duties of a law enforcement agency investigating a death.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.04. DEATHS REQUIRING AN INQUEST. (a) A justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest into the death of a person who dies in the county served by the justice if:
(1) the person dies in prison under circumstances other than those described by Section 501.055(b), Government Code, or in jail;
(2) the person dies an unnatural death from a cause other than a legal execution;
(3) the body or a body part of a person is found, the cause or circumstances of death are unknown, and:
(A) the person is identified; or
(B) the person is unidentified;
(4) the circumstances of the death indicate that the death may have been caused by unlawful means;
(5) the person commits suicide or the circumstances of the death indicate that the death may have been caused by suicide;
(6) the person dies without having been attended by a physician;
(7) the person dies while attended by a physician who is unable to certify the cause of death and who requests the justice of the peace to conduct an inquest; or
( the person is a child younger than six years of age and an inquest is required by Chapter 264, Family Code.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) of this section, a physician who attends the death of a person and who is unable to certify the cause of death shall report the death to the justice of the peace of the precinct where the death occurred and request that the justice conduct an inquest.
(c) If a person dies in a hospital or other institution and an attending physician is unable to certify the cause of death, the superintendent or general manager of the hospital or institution shall report the death to the justice of the peace of the precinct where the hospital or institution is located.
(d) A justice of the peace investigating a death described by Subsection (a)(3)(B) shall report the death to the missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse of the Department of Public Safety and the national crime information center not later than the 10th working day after the date the investigation began.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Subsec. (a) amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 255, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, Sec. 1.105, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 878, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Subsec. (a) amended by and Subsec. (d) added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsec. (a) amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 785, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Subsec. (a) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003 and Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.




Art. 49.041. REOPENING AN INQUEST. A justice of the peace may reopen an inquest if, based on information provided by a credible person or facts within the knowledge of the justice of the peace, the justice of the peace determines that reopening the inquest may reveal a different cause or different circumstances of death.


Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.




Art. 49.05. TIME AND PLACE OF INQUEST; REMOVAL OF PROPERTY AND BODY FROM PLACE OF DEATH. (a) A justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest immediately or as soon as practicable after the justice receives notification of the death.
(b) A justice of the peace may conduct an inquest:
(1) at the place where the death occurred;
(2) where the body was found; or
(3) at any other place determined to be reasonable by the justice.
(c) A justice of the peace may direct the removal of a body from the scene of death or move any part of the physical surroundings of a body only after a law enforcement agency is notified of the death and a peace officer has conducted an investigation or, if a law enforcement agency has not begun an investigation, a reasonable time has elapsed from the time the law enforcement agency was notified.
(d) A law enforcement agency that is notified of a death requiring an inquest under Article 49.04 of this code shall begin its investigation immediately or as soon as practicable after the law enforcement agency receives notification of the death.
(e) Except in emergency circumstances, a peace officer or other person conducting a death investigation for a law enforcement agency may not move the body or any part of the physical surroundings of the place of death without authorization from a justice of the peace.
(f) A person not authorized by law to move the body of a decedent or any part of the physical surroundings of the body commits an offense if the person tampers with a body that is subject to an inquest under Article 49.04 of this code or any part of the physical surroundings of the body. An offense under this section is punishable by a fine in an amount not to exceed $500.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.06. HINDERING AN INQUEST. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly hinders the entrance of a justice of the peace to a premises where a death occurred or a body is found.
(b) An offense under this article is a Class B misdemeanor.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.07. NOTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATING OFFICIAL. (a) A physician or other person who has possession of a body or body part of a person whose death requires an inquest under Article 49.04 of this code shall immediately notify the justice of the peace who serves the precinct in which the body or body part was found.
(b) A peace officer who has been notified of the death of a person whose death requires an inquest under Article 49.04 of this code shall immediately notify the justice of the peace who serves the precinct in which the body or body part was found.
(c)(1) If the justice of the peace who serves the precinct in which the body or body part was found is not available to conduct an inquest, a person required to give notice under this article shall notify the nearest available justice of the peace serving the county in which the body or body part was found, and that justice of the peace shall conduct the inquest.
(2) If no justice of the peace serving the county in which the body or body part was found is available to conduct an inquest, a person required to give notice under this article shall notify the county judge, and the county judge shall initiate the inquest. The county judge may exercise any power and perform any duty otherwise granted to or imposed under this subchapter on the justice of the peace serving the county in which the body or body part was found, except that not later than the fifth day after the day on which the inquest is initiated, the county judge shall transfer all information obtained by the judge to the justice of the peace in whose precinct the body or body part was found for final disposition of the matter.
(d) A person commits an offense if the person is required by this article to give notice and intentionally or knowingly fails to give the notice. An offense under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor .


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Subsec. (d) amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsec. (c) amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 229, Sec. 1, eff. May 22, 2001; Subsecs. (a) to (c) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.




Art. 49.08. INFORMATION LEADING TO AN INQUEST. A justice of the peace conducting an inquest may act on information the justice receives from any credible person or on facts within his knowledge.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.09. BODY DISINTERRED OR CREMATED. (a) If a body or body part subject to investigation under Article 49.04 of this code is interred and an authorized person has not conducted an inquest required under this subchapter, a justice of the peace may direct the disinterment of the body or body part in order to conduct an inquest.
(b) A person may not cremate or direct the cremation of a body subject to investigation under Article 49.04 unless the body is identified and the person has received from the justice of the peace a certificate signed by the justice stating that:
(1) an autopsy was performed on the body under Article 49.10 of this code; or
(2) no autopsy was necessary.
(c) An owner or operator of a crematory shall retain a certificate received under Subsection (b) of this article for a period of 10 years from the date of cremation of the body named on the certificate.
(d) A person commits an offense if the person cremates or directs the cremation of a body without obtaining a certificate from a justice of the peace as required by Subsection (b) of this article. An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
(e) If the body of a deceased person is unidentified, a person may not cremate or direct the cremation of the body under this article. If the body is buried, the justice of the peace shall record and maintain for not less than 10 years all information pertaining to the body and the location of burial.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Subsecs. (b), (d) amended by and Subsec. (e) added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsec. (a) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.




Art. 49.10. AUTOPSIES AND TESTS. (a) At his discretion, a justice of the peace may obtain the opinion of a county health officer or a physician concerning the necessity of obtaining an autopsy in order to determine or confirm the nature and cause of a death.
(b) The commissioners court of the county shall pay a reasonable fee for a consultation obtained by a justice of the peace under Subsection (a) of this article.
(c) Except as required by Section 264.514, Family Code, for each body that is the subject of an inquest by a justice of the peace, the justice, in the justice's discretion, shall:
(1) direct a physician to perform an autopsy; or
(2) certify that no autopsy is necessary.
(d) A justice of the peace may not order a person to perform an autopsy on the body of a deceased person whose death was caused by Asiatic cholera, bubonic plague, typhus fever, or smallpox. A justice of the peace may not order a person to perform an autopsy on the body of a deceased person whose death was caused by a communicable disease during a public health disaster.
(e) A justice of the peace shall order an autopsy performed on a body if:
(1) the justice determines that an autopsy is necessary to determine or confirm the nature and cause of death;
(2) the deceased was a child younger than six years of age and the death is determined under Section 264.514, Family Code, to be unexpected or the result of abuse or neglect; or
(3) directed to do so by the district attorney, criminal district attorney, or, if there is no district or criminal district attorney, the county attorney.
(f) A justice of the peace shall request a physician to perform the autopsy.
(g) The commissioners court shall pay a reasonable fee to a physician performing an autopsy on the order of a justice of the peace, if a fee is assessed.
(h) The commissioners court shall pay a reasonable fee for the transportation of a body to a place where an autopsy can be performed under this article if a justice of the peace orders the body to be transported to the place.
(i) If a justice of the peace determines that a complete autopsy is unnecessary to confirm or determine the cause of death, the justice may order a physician to take or remove from a body a sample of body fluids, tissues, or organs in order to determine the nature and cause of death. Except as provided by Subsection (j) of this article, a justice may not order any person other than a physician to take samples from the body of a deceased person.
(j) A justice of the peace may order a physician, qualified technician, paramedic, chemist, registered professional nurse, or licensed vocational nurse to take a specimen of blood from the body of a person who died as the result of a motor vehicle accident if the justice determines that circumstances indicate that the person may have been driving while intoxicated.
(k) A justice of the peace may order an investigative or laboratory test to determine the identity of a deceased person. After proper removal of a sample from a body, a justice may order any person specially trained in identification work to complete any tests necessary to determine the identity of the deceased person.
(l) A medical examination on an unidentified person shall include the following information to enable a timely and accurate identification of the person:
(1) all available fingerprints and palm prints;
(2) dental charts and radiographs (X-rays) of the person's teeth;
(3) frontal and lateral facial photographs with scale indicated;
(4) notation and photographs, with scale indicated, of a significant scar, mark, tattoo, or item of clothing or other personal effect found with or near the body;
(5) notation of antemortem medical conditions;
(6) notation of observations pertinent to the estimation of time of death; and
(7) precise documentation of the location of burial of the remains.
(m) A medical examination on an unidentified person may include the following information to enable a timely and accurate identification of the person:
(1) full body radiographs (X-rays); and
(2) hair specimens with roots.
(n) On discovering the body or body part of a deceased person in the circumstances described by Article 49.04(a)(3)(B), the justice of the peace may request the aid of a forensic anthropologist in the examination of the body or body part. The forensic anthropologist must hold a doctoral degree in anthropology with an emphasis in physical anthropology. The forensic anthropologist shall attempt to establish whether the body or body part is of a human or animal, whether evidence of childbirth, injury, or disease exists, and the sex, race, age, stature, and physical anomalies of the body or body part. The forensic anthropologist may also attempt to establish the cause, manner, and time of death.
(o) If a person is injured in one county and dies as a result of those injuries, with the death occurring in another county, the attorney representing the state in the prosecution of felonies in the county in which the injury occurred may request a justice of the peace in the county in which the death occurred to order an autopsy be performed on the body of the deceased person. If the justice of the peace orders that the autopsy be performed, the county in which the injury occurred shall reimburse the county in which the death occurred.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Subsec. (e) amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 255, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 878, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1022, Sec. 102, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1301, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsecs. (l) to (n) added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsec. (c) amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1071, Sec. 1, eff. August 30, 1999; Subsec. (j) amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1132, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Subsec. (n) amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 240, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Subsec. (o) added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 237, Sec. 1, eff. May 22, 2001; Subsec. (d) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 198, Sec. 2.190, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Subsec. (n) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Subsec. (n) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.




Art. 49.11. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. (a) A justice of the peace may obtain a chemical analysis of a sample taken from a body in order to determine whether death was caused, in whole or in part, by the ingestion, injection, or introduction into the body of a poison or other chemical substance. A justice may obtain a chemical analysis under this article from a chemist, toxicologist, pathologist, or other medical expert.
(b) A justice of the peace shall obtain a chemical analysis under Subsection (a) of this article if requested to do so by the physician who performed an autopsy on the body.
(c) The commissioners court shall pay a reasonable fee to a person who conducts a chemical analysis at the request of a justice of the peace.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.12. LIABILITY OF PERSON PERFORMING AUTOPSY OR TEST. A person who performs an autopsy or makes a test on a body on the order of a justice of the peace in the good faith belief that the order is valid is not liable for damages if the order is invalid.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.14. INQUEST HEARING. (a) A justice of the peace conducting an inquest may hold an inquest hearing if the justice determines that the circumstances warrant the hearing. The justice shall hold an inquest hearing if requested to do so by a district attorney or a criminal district attorney who serves the county in which the body was found.
(b) An inquest hearing may be held with or without a jury unless the district attorney or criminal district attorney requests that the hearing be held with a jury.
(c) A jury in an inquest hearing is composed of six persons. Jurors shall be summoned in the same manner as are jurors for county court. A juror who is properly summoned and fails to appear, other than a juror exempted by law, commits an offense. An offense under this subsection is punishable by a fine not to exceed $100.
(d) A justice of the peace may hold a public or a private inquest hearing. If a person has been arrested and charged with causing the death of the deceased, the defendant and the defendant's counsel are entitled to be present at the inquest hearing, examine witnesses, and introduce evidence.
(e) A justice of the peace may issue a subpoena to enforce the attendance of a witness at an inquest hearing and may issue an attachment for a person who is subpoenaed and fails to appear at the time and place cited on the subpoena.
(f) A justice of the peace may require bail of a witness to secure the appearance of the witness at an inquest hearing or before a grand jury, examining court, or other court investigating a death.
(g) The justice of the peace shall swear witnesses appearing at an inquest hearing. The justice and an attorney representing the state may examine witnesses at an inquest hearing. The justice shall direct that all sworn testimony be reduced to writing and the justice shall subscribe the transcription.
(h) Only the justice of the peace, a person charged in the death under investigation, the counsel for the person charged, and an attorney representing the state may question a witness at an inquest hearing.
(i) A justice of the peace may hold a person who disrupts the proceedings of an inquest hearing in contempt of court. A person who is found in contempt of court under this subsection may be fined in an amount not to exceed $100 and removed from court by a peace officer.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.15. INQUEST RECORD. (a) A justice of the peace or other person authorized under this subchapter to conduct an inquest shall make an inquest record for each inquest he conducts. The inquest record must include a report of the events, proceedings, findings, and conclusions of the inquest. The record must also include any autopsy prepared in the case and all other papers of the case. All papers of the inquest record must be marked with the case number and be clearly indexed and be maintained in the office of the justice of the peace and be made available to the appropriate officials upon request.
(b) As part of the inquest record, the justice of the peace shall make and keep complete and permanent records of all inquest hearings. The inquest hearing records must include:
(1) the name of the deceased person or, if the person is unidentified, a description of the body;
(2) the time, date, and place where the body was found;
(3) the time, date, and place where the inquest was held;
(4) the name of every witness who testified at the inquest;
(5) the name of every person who provided to the justice information pertinent to the inquest;
(6) the amount of bail set for each witness and person charged in the death;
(7) a transcript of the testimony given by each witness at the inquest hearing;
( the autopsy report, if an autopsy was performed; and
(9) the name of every person arrested as a suspect in the death who appeared at the inquest and the details of that person's arrest.
(c) The commissioners court shall pay a reasonable fee to a person who records or transcribes sworn testimony during an inquest hearing.
(d) The justice of the peace shall certify a copy of the inquest summary report and deliver the certified copy in a sealed envelope to the clerk of the district court. The clerk of the district court shall retain the summary report subject to an order by the district court.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.16. ORDERS AND DEATH CERTIFICATES. The justice of the peace or other person who conducts an inquest under this subchapter shall sign the death certificate and all orders made as a necessary part of the inquest.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.17. EVIDENCE. A justice of the peace shall preserve all tangible evidence that the justice accumulates in the course of an inquest that tends to show the real cause of death or identify the person who caused the death. The justice shall:
(1) deposit the evidence with the appropriate law enforcement agency to be stored in the agency's property room for safekeeping; or
(2) deliver the evidence to the district clerk for safekeeping subject to the order of the court.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.18. DEATH IN CUSTODY. (a) If a person confined in a penal institution dies, the sheriff or other person in charge of the penal institution shall as soon as practicable inform the justice of the peace of the precinct where the penal institution is located of the death.
(b) If a person dies while in the custody of a peace officer or as a result of a peace officer's use of force or if a person incarcerated in a jail, correctional facility, or state juvenile facility dies, the director of the law enforcement agency of which the officer is a member or of the facility in which the person was incarcerated shall investigate the death and file a written report of the cause of death with the attorney general no later than the 30th day after the date on which the person in custody or the incarcerated person died. The director shall make a good faith effort to obtain all facts relevant to the death and include those facts in the report. The attorney general shall make the report, with the exception of any portion of the report that the attorney general determines is privileged, available to any interested person.
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to a death that occurs in a facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Subsection (b) does not apply to a death that occurs in a facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice if the death occurs under circumstances described by Section 501.055(b)(2), Government Code.
(d) In this article:
(1) "Correctional facility" means a confinement facility or halfway house operated by or under contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(2) "In the custody of a peace officer" means:
(A) under arrest by a peace officer; or
(B) under the physical control or restraint of a peace officer.
(3) "State juvenile facility" means any facility or halfway house:
(A) operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or
(B) described by Section 51.02(13) or (14), Family Code.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Subsec. (c) added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, Sec. 1.106, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Subsec. (c) amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1422, Sec. 1, eff. June 20, 1997; Subsec. (b) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 894, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Subsec. (c) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 894, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Subsec. (d) added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 894, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 734 (H.B. 1549), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2015.




Art. 49.19. WARRANT OF ARREST. (a) A justice of the peace who is conducting an inquest of a death under this subchapter may issue a warrant for the arrest of a person suspected of causing the death if:
(1) the justice has knowledge that the person caused the death of the deceased;
(2) the justice receives an affidavit stating that the person caused the death; or
(3) evidence is adduced at an inquest hearing that shows probable cause to believe the person caused the death.
(b) A peace officer who receives an arrest warrant issued by a justice of the peace shall:
(1) execute the warrant without delay; and
(2) detain the person arrested until the person's discharge is ordered by the justice of the peace or other proper authority.
(c) A person who is charged in a death and arrested under a warrant of a justice of the peace shall remain in the custody of the arresting peace officer and may not be removed from the peace officer's custody on the authority of a warrant from another magistrate. A person charged in a death who has not been arrested under a warrant of a justice of the peace may be arrested on the order of a magistrate other than the justice of the peace and examined by that magistrate while an inquest is pending.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.20. REQUISITES OF WARRANT. A warrant of arrest issued under Article 49.19 of this code is sufficient if it:
(1) is issued in the name of "The State of Texas";
(2) specifies the name of the person whose arrest is ordered or, if the person's name is unknown, reasonably describes the person;
(3) recites in plain language the offense with which the person is charged; and
(4) is signed and dated by a justice of the peace.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.21. COMMITMENT OF HOMICIDE SUSPECT. At the conclusion of an inquest, if a justice of the peace finds that a person who has been arrested in the case caused or contributed to the death of the deceased, the justice may:
(1) commit the person to jail; or
(2) require the person to execute a bail bond with security for the person's appearance before the proper court to answer for the offense.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.22. SEALING PREMISES OF DECEASED. (a) If a body or body part that is subject to an inquest under Article 49.04 of this code is found on premises that were under the sole control of the deceased, a justice of the peace or other person authorized under this subchapter to conduct an inquest may direct that the premises be locked and sealed to prohibit entrance by any person other than a peace officer conducting an investigation of the death.
(b) Rent, utility charges, taxes, and all other reasonable expenses accruing against the property of the deceased during the time the premises of the deceased are locked and sealed under this article may be charged against the estate of the deceased.
(c) A person other than a peace officer commits an offense if the person tampers with or removes a lock or seal placed on premises under this article.
(d) An offense under this article is a Class B misdemeanor.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Subsec. (d) amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Subsec. (a) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2003 and Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.




Art. 49.23. OFFICE OF DEATH INVESTIGATOR. (a) The commissioners court of a county may establish an office of death investigator and employ one or more death investigators to provide assistance to those persons in the county who conduct inquests. A death investigator employed under this article is entitled to receive compensation from the county in an amount set by the commissioners court. A death investigator serves at the will of the commissioners court and on terms and conditions set by the commissioners court.
(b) To be eligible for employment as a death investigator, a person must have experience or training in investigative procedures concerning the circumstances, manner, and cause of the death of a deceased person.
(c) At the request of and under the supervision of a justice of the peace or other person conducting an inquest, a death investigator may assist the person conducting the inquest to investigate the time, place, and manner of death and lock and seal the premises of the deceased. A death investigator who assists in an inquest under this subsection shall make a complete report of the death investigator's activities, findings, and conclusions to the justice of the peace or other person conducting the inquest not later than eight hours after the death investigator completes the investigation.


Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.




Art. 49.24. NOTIFICATION AND REPORT OF DEATH OF RESIDENT OF INSTITUTION. (a) A superintendent or general manager of an institution who is required by Article 49.04 to report to a justice of the peace the death of an individual under the care, custody, or control of or residing in the institution shall:
(1) notify the office of the attorney general of the individual's death within 24 hours of the death; and
(2) prepare and submit to the office of the attorney general a report containing all facts relevant to the individual's death within 72 hours of the death.
(b) The superintendent or general manager of the institution shall make a good faith effort to obtain all facts relevant to an individual's death and to include those facts in the report submitted under Subsection (a)(2).
(c) The office of the attorney general may investigate each death reported to the office by an institution that receives payments through the medical assistance program under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the office of the attorney general shall make a report submitted under Subsection (a)(2) available to any interested person who submits a written request for access to the report.
(e) The office of the attorney general may deny a person access to a report or a portion of a report filed under Subsection (a)(2) if the office determines that the report or a portion of the report is:
(1) privileged from discovery; or
(2) exempt from required public disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
(f) This article does not relieve a superintendent or general manager of an institution of the duty of making any other notification or report of an individual's death as required by law.
(g) For the purposes of this article, the definition of "institution" excludes hospitals.


Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 894, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 392 (S.B. 1469), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2005.




SUBCHAPTER B. DUTIES PERFORMED BY MEDICAL EXAMINERS


Art. 49.25. MEDICAL EXAMINERS
Sec. 1. OFFICE AUTHORIZED. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commissioners Court of any county having a population of more than one million and not having a reputable medical school as defined in Articles 4501 and 4503, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, shall establish and maintain the office of medical examiner, and the Commissioners Court of any county may establish and provide for the maintenance of the office of medical examiner. Population shall be according to the last preceding federal census.
Sec. 1-a. MULTI-COUNTY DISTRICT; JOINT OFFICE. (a) The commissioners courts of two or more counties may enter into an agreement to create a medical examiners district and to jointly operate and maintain the office of medical examiner of the district. The district must include the entire area of all counties involved. The counties within the district must, when taken together, form a continuous area.
(b) There may be only one medical examiner in a medical examiners district, although he may employ, within the district, necessary staff personnel. When a county becomes a part of a medical examiners district, the effect is the same within the county as if the office of medical examiner had been established in that county alone. The district medical examiner has all the powers and duties within the district that a medical examiner who serves in a single county has within that county.
(c) The commissioners court of any county which has become a part of a medical examiners district may withdraw the county from the district, but twelve months' notice of withdrawal must be given to the commissioners courts of all other counties in the district.
Sec. 2. APPOINTMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS. (a) The commissioners court shall appoint the medical examiner, who serves at the pleasure of the commissioners court. A person appointed as the medical examiner must be:
(1) a physician licensed by the Texas Medical Board; or
(2) a person who:
(A) is licensed and in good standing as a physician in another state;
(B) has applied to the Texas Medical Board for a license to practice medicine in this state; and
(C) has been granted a provisional license under Section 155.101, Occupations Code.
(b) To the greatest extent possible, the medical examiner shall be appointed from persons having training and experience in pathology, toxicology, histology and other medico-legal sciences.
(c) The medical examiner shall devote the time and energy necessary to perform the duties conferred by this Article.
Sec. 3. ASSISTANTS. The medical examiner may, subject to the approval of the commissioners court, employ such deputy examiners, scientific experts, trained technicians, officers and employees as may be necessary to the proper performance of the duties imposed by this Article upon the medical examiner.
Sec. 4. SALARIES. The commissioners court shall establish and pay the salaries and compensations of the medical examiner and his staff.
Sec. 5. OFFICES. The commissioners court shall provide the medical examiner and his staff with adequate office space and shall provide laboratory facilities or make arrangements for the use of existing laboratory facilities in the county, if so requested by the medical examiner.
Sec. 6. DEATH INVESTIGATIONS. (a) Any medical examiner, or his duly authorized deputy, shall be authorized, and it shall be his duty, to hold inquests with or without a jury within his county, in the following cases:
1. When a person shall die within twenty-four hours after admission to a hospital or institution or in prison or in jail;
2. When any person is killed; or from any cause dies an unnatural death, except under sentence of the law; or dies in the absence of one or more good witnesses;
3. When the body or a body part of a person is found, the cause or circumstances of death are unknown, and:
(A) the person is identified; or
(B) the person is unidentified;
4. When the circumstances of the death of any person are such as to lead to suspicion that he came to his death by unlawful means;
5. When any person commits suicide, or the circumstances of his death are such as to lead to suspicion that he committed suicide;
6. When a person dies without having been attended by a duly licensed and practicing physician, and the local health officer or registrar required to report the cause of death under Section 193.005, Health and Safety Code, does not know the cause of death. When the local health officer or registrar of vital statistics whose duty it is to certify the cause of death does not know the cause of death, he shall so notify the medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred and request an inquest;
7. When the person is a child who is younger than six years of age and the death is reported under Chapter 264, Family Code; and
8. When a person dies who has been attended immediately preceding his death by a duly licensed and practicing physician or physicians, and such physician or physicians are not certain as to the cause of death and are unable to certify with certainty the cause of death as required by Section 193.004, Health and Safety Code. In case of such uncertainty the attending physician or physicians, or the superintendent or general manager of the hospital or institution in which the deceased shall have died, shall so report to the medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred, and request an inquest.
(b) The inquests authorized and required by this Article shall be held by the medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred.
(c) In making such investigations and holding such inquests, the medical examiner or an authorized deputy may administer oaths and take affidavits. In the absence of next of kin or legal representatives of the deceased, the medical examiner or authorized deputy shall take charge of the body and all property found with it.
Sec. 6a. ORGAN TRANSPLANT DONORS; NOTICE; INQUESTS. (a) When death occurs to an individual designated a prospective organ donor for transplantation by a licensed physician under circumstances requiring the medical examiner of the county in which death occurred, or the medical examiner's authorized deputy, to hold an inquest, the medical examiner, or a member of his staff will be so notified by the administrative head of the facility in which the transplantation is to be performed.
(b) When notified pursuant to Subsection (a) of this Section, the medical examiner or the medical examiner's deputy shall perform an inquest on the deceased prospective organ donor.
Sec. 7. REPORTS OF DEATH. (a) Any police officer, superintendent or general manager of an institution, physician, or private citizen who shall become aware of a death under any of the circumstances set out in Section 6(a) of this Article, shall immediately report such death to the office of the medical examiner or to the city or county police departments; any such report to a city or county police department shall be immediately transmitted to the office of the medical examiner.
(b) A person investigating a death described by Subdivision 3(B) of Section 6(a) shall report the death to the missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse of the Department of Public Safety and the national crime information center not later than the 10th working day after the date the investigation began.
(c) A superintendent or general manager of an institution who reports a death under Subsection (a) must comply with the notice and reporting requirements of Article 49.24. The office of the attorney general has the same powers and duties provided the office under that article regarding the dissemination and investigation of the report.
Sec. 8. REMOVAL OF BODIES. When any death under circumstances set out in Section 6 shall have occurred, the body shall not be disturbed or removed from the position in which it is found by any person without authorization from the medical examiner or authorized deputy, except for the purpose of preserving such body from loss or destruction or maintaining the flow of traffic on a highway, railroad or airport.
Sec. 9. AUTOPSY. (a) If the cause of death shall be determined beyond a reasonable doubt as a result of the investigation, the medical examiner shall file a report thereof setting forth specifically the cause of death with the district attorney or criminal district attorney, or in a county in which there is no district attorney or criminal district attorney with the county attorney, of the county in which the death occurred. If in the opinion of the medical examiner an autopsy is necessary, or if such is requested by the district attorney or criminal district attorney, or county attorney where there is no district attorney or criminal district attorney, the autopsy shall be immediately performed by the medical examiner or a duly authorized deputy. In those cases where a complete autopsy is deemed unnecessary by the medical examiner to ascertain the cause of death, the medical examiner may perform a limited autopsy involving the taking of blood samples or any other samples of body fluids, tissues or organs, in order to ascertain the cause of death or whether a crime has been committed. In the case of a body of a human being whose identity is unknown, the medical examiner may authorize such investigative and laboratory tests and processes as are required to determine its identity as well as the cause of death. In performing an autopsy the medical examiner or authorized deputy may use the facilities of any city or county hospital within the county or such other facilities as are made available. Upon completion of the autopsy, the medical examiner shall file a report setting forth the findings in detail with the office of the district attorney or criminal district attorney of the county, or if there is no district attorney or criminal district attorney, with the county attorney of the county.
(b) A medical examination on an unidentified person shall include the following information to enable a timely and accurate identification of the person:
(1) all available fingerprints and palm prints;
(2) dental charts and radiographs (X-rays) of the person's teeth;
(3) frontal and lateral facial photographs with scale indicated;
(4) notation and photographs, with scale indicated, of a significant scar, mark, tattoo, or item of clothing or other personal effect found with or near the body;
(5) notation of antemortem medical conditions;
(6) notation of observations pertinent to the estimation of time of death; and
(7) precise documentation of the location of burial of the remains.
(c) A medical examination on an unidentified person may include the following information to enable a timely and accurate identification of the person:
(1) full body radiographs (X-rays); and
(2) hair specimens with roots.
Sec. 10. DISINTERMENTS AND CREMATIONS. When a body upon which an inquest ought to have been held has been interred, the medical examiner may cause it to be disinterred for the purpose of holding such inquest.
Before any body, upon which an inquest is authorized by the provisions of this Article, can be lawfully cremated, an autopsy shall be performed thereon as provided in this Article, or a certificate that no autopsy was necessary shall be furnished by the medical examiner. Before any dead body can be lawfully cremated, the owner or operator of the crematory shall demand and be furnished with a certificate, signed by the medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred showing that an autopsy was performed on said body or that no autopsy thereon was necessary. It shall be the duty of the medical examiner to determine whether or not, from all the circumstances surrounding the death, an autopsy is necessary prior to issuing a certificate under the provisions of this section. No autopsy shall be required by the medical examiner as a prerequisite to cremation in case death is caused by the pestilential diseases of Asiatic cholera, bubonic plague, typhus fever, or smallpox. All certificates furnished to the owner or operator of a crematory by any medical examiner, under the terms of this Article, shall be preserved by such owner or operator of such crematory for a period of two years from the date of the cremation of said body. A medical examiner is not required to perform an autopsy on the body of a deceased person whose death was caused by a communicable disease during a public health disaster.
Sec. 10a. WAITING PERIOD BETWEEN DEATH AND CREMATION. The body of a deceased person shall not be cremated within 48 hours after the time of death as indicated on the regular death certificate, unless the death certificate indicates death was caused by the pestilential diseases of Asiatic cholera, bubonic plague, typhus fever, or smallpox, or unless the time requirement is waived in writing by the county medical examiner or, in counties not having a county medical examiner, a justice of the peace. In a public health disaster, the commissioner of public health may designate other communicable diseases for which cremation within 48 hours of the time of death is authorized.
Sec. 10b. DISPOSAL OF UNIDENTIFIED BODY. If the body of a deceased person is unidentified, a person may not cremate or direct the cremation of the body under this article. If the body is buried, the investigating agency responsible for the burial shall record and maintain for not less than 10 years all information pertaining to the body and the location of burial.
Sec. 11. RECORDS.
(a) The medical examiner shall keep full and complete records properly indexed, giving the name if known of every person whose death is investigated, the place where the body was found, the date, the cause and manner of death, and shall issue a death certificate. The full report and detailed findings of the autopsy, if any, shall be a part of the record. Copies of all records shall promptly be delivered to the proper district, county, or criminal district attorney in any case where further investigation is advisable. The records may not be withheld, subject to a discretionary exception under Chapter 552, Government Code, except that a photograph or x-ray of a body taken during an autopsy is excepted from required public disclosure in accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code, but is subject to disclosure:
(1) under a subpoena or authority of other law; or
(2) if the photograph or x-ray is of the body of a person who died while in the custody of law enforcement.
(b) Under the exception to public disclosure provided by Subsection (a), a governmental body as defined by Section 552.003, Government Code, may withhold a photograph or x-ray described by Subsection (a) without requesting a decision from the attorney general under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code. This subsection does not affect the required disclosure of a photograph or x-ray under Subsection (a)(1) or (2).
Sec. 12. TRANSFER OF DUTIES OF JUSTICE OF PEACE. When the commissioners court of any county shall establish the office of medical examiner, all powers and duties of justices of the peace in such county relating to the investigation of deaths and inquests shall vest in the office of the medical examiner. Any subsequent General Law pertaining to the duties of justices of the peace in death investigations and inquests shall apply to the medical examiner in such counties as to the extent not inconsistent with this Article, and all laws or parts of laws otherwise in conflict herewith are hereby declared to be inapplicable to this Article.
Sec. 13. USE OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST. On discovering the body or body part of a deceased person in the circumstances described by Subdivision 3(B) of Section 6(a), the medical examiner may request the aid of a forensic anthropologist in the examination of the body or body part. The forensic anthropologist must hold a doctoral degree in anthropology with an emphasis in physical anthropology. The forensic anthropologist shall attempt to establish whether the body or body part is of a human or animal, whether evidence of childbirth, injury, or disease exists, and the sex, race, age, stature, and physical anomalies of the body or body part. The forensic anthropologist may also attempt to establish the cause, manner, and time of death.
Sec. 13A. FEES. (a) A medical examiner may charge reasonable fees for services provided by the office of medical examiner under this article, including cremation approvals, court testimonies, consultations, and depositions.
(b) The commissioners court must approve the amount of the fee before the fee may be assessed. The fee may not exceed the amount necessary to provide the services described by Subsection (a).
(c) The fee may not be assessed against the county's district attorney or a county office.
Sec. 14. PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates this article.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.


Acts 1965, 59th Leg., vol. 2, p. 317, ch. 722. Amended by Acts 1969, 61st Leg., p. 1033, ch. 336, Sec. 1, eff. May 27, 1969; Acts 1969, 61st Leg., p. 1619, ch. 500, Sec. 1, eff. June 10, 1969; Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 1165, ch. 270, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971; Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1826, ch. 562, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.




Sec. 6a amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1205, Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 1989; Sec. 1 amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 597, Sec. 58, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Sec. 6, subds. 6, 7 amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 284(66), (67), eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Sec. 10 amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 284(69), eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Sec. 6 amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 255, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 878, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Secs. 6, 7, 9 amended by and Sec. 10b added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Sec. 13 added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Sec. 14 renumbered from Sec. 13 and amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 656, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Sec. 11 amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 607, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Sec. 6(a) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 6; Sec. 7(a) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 894, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Sec. 7(c) added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 894, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Secs. 10, 10a amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 198, Sec. 2.191, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Sec. 13 amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 826, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1341 (S.B. 1233), Sec. 8, eff. June 17, 2011.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 22 (S.B. 336), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 25 (S.B. 457), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.




SUBCHAPTER C. INFORMED CONSENT FOR POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY


Art. 49.31. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not apply to an autopsy that:
(1) is ordered by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or an authorized official of the department in accordance with Section 501.055, Government Code; or
(2) a justice of the peace or medical examiner determines is required under this chapter or other law.


Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 950 (H.B. 1009), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.




Art. 49.32. CONSENT TO POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this article, a physician may not perform, or assist in the performance of, a postmortem examination or autopsy on the body of a deceased person unless the physician obtains the written informed consent of a person authorized to provide consent under Article 49.33 of this code. The consent must be provided on the form prescribed under Article 49.34 of this code.
(b) If, after due diligence, a physician is unable to identify or contact a person authorized to give consent under Article 49.33 of this code, the physician may, as authorized by a medical examiner, justice of the peace, or county judge, as appropriate, perform a postmortem examination or autopsy on the body of a deceased person not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours from the time of the decedent's death or the time the physician or other person took possession of the body.


Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 950 (H.B. 1009), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.




Art. 49.33. PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO CONSENT TO POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY. (a) Subject to Subsections (b) and (c) of this article, consent for a postmortem examination or autopsy may be given by any member of the following classes of persons who is reasonably available, in the order of priority listed:
(1) the spouse of the decedent;
(2) the person acting as guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of death or the executor or administrator of the decedent's estate;
(3) the adult children of the decedent;
(4) the parents of the decedent; and
(5) the adult siblings of the decedent.
(b) If there is more than one member of a class listed in Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of this article entitled to give consent to a postmortem examination or autopsy, consent may be given by a member of the class unless another member of the class files an objection with the physician, medical examiner, justice of the peace, or county judge. If an objection is filed, the consent may be given only by a majority of the members of the class who are reasonably available.
(c) A person may not give consent under this article if, at the time of the decedent's death, a person in a class granted higher priority under Subsection (a) of this article is reasonably available to give consent or to file an objection to a postmortem examination or autopsy.


Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 950 (H.B. 1009), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.




Art. 49.34. POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY CONSENT FORM. The commissioner of state health services, in consultation with the Texas Medical Board, shall prescribe a standard written consent form for a postmortem examination or autopsy. The form must:
(1) include the name of the hospital or other institution and the department that will perform the examination or autopsy;
(2) include a statement that the removal from the deceased person's body and retention by the physician of organs, fluids, prosthetic devices, or tissue may be required for purposes of comprehensive evaluation or accurate determination of a cause of death;
(3) provide the family of the deceased person with an opportunity to place restrictions or special limitations on the examination or autopsy;
(4) include a separate section regarding the disposition of organs, fluids, prosthetic devices, or tissue after the examination or autopsy, including a prioritized list of the persons authorized to control that disposition, as provided by Chapter 692A, Health and Safety Code;
(5) provide for documented and witnessed consent;
(6) allow authorization for the release of human remains to a funeral home or individual designated by the person giving consent for the postmortem examination or autopsy;
(7) include information regarding the rights described by Article 49.35 of this code;
( list the circumstances under which a medical examiner is required by law to conduct an investigation, inquest, or autopsy under Article 49.25 of this code;
(9) include a statement that the form is required by state law; and
(10) be written in plain language designed to be easily understood by the average person.


Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 950 (H.B. 1009), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.




Art. 49.35. RIGHT TO NONAFFILIATED PHYSICIAN. (a) A person authorized to consent to a postmortem examination or autopsy under Article 49.33 of this code may request that a physician who is not affiliated with the hospital or other institution where the deceased person died:
(1) perform the postmortem examination or autopsy at another hospital or institution; or
(2) review the postmortem examination or autopsy conducted by a physician affiliated with the hospital or other institution where the deceased person died.
(b) A representative of the hospital or other institution shall inform the person of the person's right to request the performance or review of a postmortem examination or autopsy by a nonaffiliated physician under Subsection (a) before the person consents to the postmortem examination or autopsy.
(c) A person requesting a nonaffiliated physician to perform or review a postmortem examination or autopsy shall bear the additional costs incurred as a result of the nonaffiliated physician's performance or review of the examination or autopsy under Subsection (a) of this article.


Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 950 (H.B. 1009), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.