A. The county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner may enter any room, dwelling, building or other place in which the body or evidence of the circumstances of the death requiring investigation may be found, provided that a law enforcement agency investigating the death obtains a search warrant for private property other than in the immediate location where the body was found.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 11-595

  • 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
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Medical examiner: means a forensic pathologist who performs or directs the conduct of death investigations. See Arizona Laws 11-591
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215

B. The county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner, with the permission of the law enforcement agency investigating the death may take into possession any object or article found on the deceased or in the deceased’s immediate vicinity which may aid in the determination of the deceased’s identity or determination of the cause or manner of death. Upon completion of the findings, the medical examiner or alternate medical examiner, within thirty days, shall deliver the object or article to the law enforcement agency concerned, to the legal representative of the deceased or to the county treasurer.