Arizona Laws 11-596. Removal or disturbance of body or effects or weapons without consent prohibited
A. A human body or body suspected of being human shall not be removed from the place where the death occurred, if the death is of a nature requiring investigation, without first obtaining permission of the county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 11-596
- Alternate medical examiner: means a physician who has training and competence in the principles of death investigation and who performs or directs the conduct of death investigations. See Arizona Laws 11-591
- Medical examiner: means a forensic pathologist who performs or directs the conduct of death investigations. See Arizona Laws 11-591
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality or any other legal or commercial entity. See Arizona Laws 11-487.01
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Arizona Laws 11-487.01
B. Embalming, cleansing of the surfaces of the body or other alteration of the appearance or state of the body, clothing or personal effects shall not be performed until the permission of the county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner has been obtained. A funeral director or embalmer who receives custody of a human body from a county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner is deemed to have the permission required by this subsection, unless permission is expressly withheld by the county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner.
C. A person, except a law enforcement agent in the performance of the agent’s duties, shall not remove from the place of death or from the body of the deceased any of the effects of the deceased, or instruments or weapons that may have been used in the death requiring investigation, without prior permission of the county medical examiner, alternate medical examiner or the investigating law enforcement agent.