The county medical examiner shall maintain the reports of death investigations conducted by the Escambia County Medical Examiner and a copy shall be forwarded to the Region IV Laboratory of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. These reports, or true copies thereof duly certified by the county medical examiner or the director of the department, are admissible in evidence in any court in Escambia County, with or without testimony by the county medical examiner or Department of Forensic Sciences officials, provided, any person preparing a report given in evidence pursuant to this article may be summoned as a witness in any civil or criminal case by either party to the cause.