{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-945","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-945","heading":"Person to perform autopsy - Extent - Report of findings","body":"A. When properly authorized, an autopsy shall be performed by\n\nthe Chief Medical Examiner or such person as may be designated by\n\nhim or her for such purpose. The Chief Medical Examiner or a person\n\ndesignated by him or her may authorize arterial embalming of the\n\nbody prior to the autopsy when such embalming would in his or her\n\nopinion not interfere with the autopsy. The extent of the autopsy\n\nshall be made as is deemed necessary by the person performing the\n\nautopsy.\n\nB. A full and complete report of the facts developed by the\n\nautopsy together with the findings of the person making it shall be\n\nprepared and filed in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner\n\nwithout unnecessary delay. Copies of such reports and findings\n\nshall be furnished to district attorneys and law enforcement\n\nofficers making a criminal investigation in connection with the\n\ndeath.\n\nC. Upon receiving a written, signed and dated records request,\n\na copy of the full and complete report of the facts developed by the\n\nautopsy, together with the findings of the person making the report,\n\nshall be released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to the\n\npublic in the most expedient manner available or as requested by the\n\nrecords requester and, under the following conditions, shall be\n\nfurnished to:\n\n1. District attorneys and any law enforcement agency with\n\nauthority to make a criminal investigation in connection with the\n\ndeath; provided, such copies shall not be shared with any other\n\nentity unless otherwise provided by law;\n\n2. The spouse of the deceased or any person related within two\n\n(2) degrees of consanguinity to the deceased, unless the district\n\nattorney or law enforcement agency making a criminal investigation\n\nobjects to the release of documents to any family member. District\n\nattorneys and law enforcement agencies shall be prohibited from\n\nobjecting to the release of the full and complete autopsy report to\n\nthe family if the decedent was in state custody, in custody of law\n\nenforcement or is deceased due to lethal action of a law enforcement\n\nofficer; and\n\n3. Any insurance company conducting an insurer's investigation\n\nof any insurance claim arising from the death of the individual upon\n\nwhom the autopsy was performed.\n\nD. The full and complete report of the facts developed by the\n\nautopsy, together with the findings of the person making the report,\n\nshall be withheld from public inspection and copying for ten (10)\n\nbusiness days following the date the report is generated by the\n\nOffice of the Chief Medical Examiner, except as provided for in\n\nsubsection C of this section.\n\nE. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall produce a\n\nsummary report of investigation by the medical examiner at the same\n\ntime the full and complete report of the facts developed by the\n\nautopsy, together with the findings of the person making the report,\n\nis released to the parties listed in subsection C of this section.\n\nThe summary report of investigation shall be made available for\n\npublic inspection and copying without delay. Any person may obtain\n\na copy of the summary report of investigation in the most expedient\n\nmanner available or as requested by the records requester.\n\nF. The summary report of investigation shall include, but not\n\nbe limited to, the following information, if known:\n\n1. Decedent name, age, birth date, race, sex, home address,\n\nexaminer notified by name and title and including date and time,\n\nlocation where decedent was injured or became ill, including name of\n\nfacility, address, city, county, type of premises, date and time;\n\nlocation of death including name of facility, city, county, type of\n\npremises, date and time, and location body was viewed by medical\n\nexaminer including address, city, county, type of premises and date\n\nand time;\n\n2. If the death was a motor vehicle accident, whether the\nity, address, city, county, type of premises, date and time;\n\nlocation of death including name of facility, city, county, type of\n\npremises, date and time, and location body was viewed by medical\n\nexaminer including address, city, county, type of premises and date\n\nand time;\n\n2. If the death was a motor vehicle accident, whether the\n\ndecedent was the driver, passenger or pedestrian, and the type of\n\nvehicle involved in the accident;\n\n3. A description of the body, including but not limited to the\n\nexternal physical examination, rigor, livor, external observations\n\nincluding hair, eye color, body length and weight, and other\n\nexternal observations, as well as the presence and location of\n\nblood; and\n\n4. The probable cause of death, other significant conditions\n\ncontributing to the death but not resulting in the underlying cause\n\ngiven, manner of death, case disposition, case number, and name and\n\ncontact information of the medical examiner performing the autopsy,\n\nincluding a signature and certification statement that the facts\n\ncontained in the report are true and correct to the best of their\n\nknowledge and the date the report was signed and generated.\n\nG. At the conclusion of the ten (10) business-day-period, the\n\nfull and complete report shall be made available as a public record\n\nexcept when a district attorney or law enforcement agency with\n\nauthority to make a criminal investigation in connection with the\n\ndeath declares that the full and complete report contains\n\ninformation that would materially compromise an ongoing criminal\n\ninvestigation. Such declaration shall be in writing to the Office\n\nof the Medical Examiner and be an open record available from the\n\nOffice of Medical Examiner.\n\n1. Upon such declaration, the district attorney or law\n\nenforcement agency shall request from the appropriate district court\n\na hearing for an extension of time during which the full and\n\ncomplete autopsy report, not including information in the summary\n\nreport, may be withheld.\n\n2. When a request for an extension of time has been filed with\n\nthe court, the full and complete autopsy report in question may be\n\nwithheld until the court has issued a ruling on the requested\n\nextension of time to release the autopsy report. Such requests for\n\nan extension of time during which the autopsy may be withheld shall\n\nbe made on the grounds that release of the full and complete autopsy\n\nreport will materially compromise an ongoing criminal investigation.\n\n3. Courts considering such requests shall conduct a hearing and\n\nconsider whether the interests of the public outweigh the interests\n\nasserted by the district attorney or law enforcement agency.\n\n4. If an extension of time is granted by the court, the initial\n\nextension shall be ordered by the court for a period of six (6)\n\nmonths. Subsequent extensions shall only be ordered after a hearing\n\nby the court for an additional one year and cumulative time\n\nextensions shall not exceed more than four (4) years and six (6)\n\nmonths; provided, under no circumstance shall an extension of time\n\nbe granted by the court if the deceased person was in state custody,\n\nin custody of law enforcement or was deceased due to lethal action\n\nof a law enforcement officer.\n\n5. In the event that six (6) months have expired from the date\n\nof the initial release of the autopsy report without any person\n\nbeing criminally charged in the case in question and release of the\n\nautopsy or portions of the autopsy have been denied on the grounds\n\nof materially compromising a criminal investigation, an appeal of\n\nsuch denial may be made to the appropriate district court. Courts\n\nconsidering appeals for temporarily withholding an autopsy report\n\nshall conduct a hearing and consider whether the interests of the\n\npublic outweigh the interests asserted by the district attorney or\ntopsy or portions of the autopsy have been denied on the grounds\n\nof materially compromising a criminal investigation, an appeal of\n\nsuch denial may be made to the appropriate district court. Courts\n\nconsidering appeals for temporarily withholding an autopsy report\n\nshall conduct a hearing and consider whether the interests of the\n\npublic outweigh the interests asserted by the district attorney or\n\nlaw enforcement agency. In response to such appeals, the district\n\ncourt shall order that the autopsy report be made available for\n\npublic inspection and copying with no redaction, or shall order an\n\nextension of time during which the autopsy report may be withheld\n\nunder the provisions of this section.\n\n6. Any court order obtained pursuant to this subsection shall\n\nbe served upon the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner by the party\n\nrequesting or granted the extension by the court.\n\nH. An order granting an extension of time shall be applicable\n\nto the autopsy report for the duration of the extension; provided,\n\neach subsequent time extension shall only be ordered by the district\n\ncourt for an additional twelve-month period of time or less and\n\ncumulative time extensions shall not exceed four (4) years and six\n\n(6) months; provided, charges being filed against a person in the\n\ncase in question or an autopsy report being entered into evidence as\n\npart of a criminal prosecution nullifies any granted extension of\n\ntime.\n\nI. The opportunities to withhold an autopsy report or portions\n\nof an autopsy report provided in this section shall expire in\n\ntotality four (4) years and six (6) months after the date the\n\nautopsy report was generated, at which time the autopsy report\n\npreviously withheld on the grounds provided for in this section\n\nshall be made available for public inspection and copying.\n\nJ. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a district attorney\n\nor law enforcement agency with authority to make a criminal\n\ninvestigation in connection with the death from immediately\n\nreleasing portions of information contained in the full and complete\n\nautopsy report for the purposes of assisting with the criminal\n\ninvestigation or apprehension of any person involved in a criminal\n\nact that resulted in the death of another person.\n\nK. After ten (10) business days from the release of the full\n\nand complete report, nothing in this section shall prohibit the\n\nspouse of the deceased or any person related within two (2) degrees\n\nof consanguinity to the deceased who has received a copy of the full\n\nand complete autopsy report from the Office of the Chief Medical\n\nExaminer from authorizing the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's\n\noffice to release the full and complete autopsy report to any other\n\nperson subject to approval by the court.\n\nL. When an autopsy of the body is conducted of a deceased human\n\nwho has epilepsy or a history of seizures, the report shall include\n\nan investigation and determination as to whether the deceased\n\nsuffered a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). In the\n\nevent the deceased did suffer a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy,\n\nsuch information shall be noted on the death certificate and be\n\nreported to the North American SUDEP Registry (NASR).","path":["OK Code","Title 63"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os63.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"8186d191a254a6cc5a799f8416186e82cf796907bda155b91a7d997fe43323ef","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-944.3","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-946"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}