Constitutional Law

Wyo. lawmaker wants to seal some autopsy info

By By The Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. ? A Jackson lawmaker wants to change state law to specify that toxicology reports and some other information from autopsies should remain confidential unless a judge orders it released.

Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, is chairman of the state House Judiciary Committee. He said last week his bill would give guidance to county coroners, some of whom he said currently don't release any autopsy information, while others release everything they have.

Gingery's bill would require coroners to release a report called a verdict listing the person's cause of death. Anyone other than close relatives interested in receiving more information would have to get permission from a judge.

"There's a lot of confusion out there right now, and I think this might actually open up a lot of stuff," Gingery said. "Because right now, a lot of those coroners don't hand out anything."

Jim Angell, executive director of the Wyoming Press Association, said Dec. 28 it appeared Gingery's bill would generally codify the existing practices of most coroners in the state. Angell said he hasn't studied the bill closely yet.

Wyoming news media have gone to court to force the release of autopsy information in some cases, Angell said. But he said generally that reporters wre interested only in a brief description of the cause of death.

Angell said toxicology reports and audio and video recordings from autopsies weren't specifically listed in current state law as being public documents. Yet he said he didn't like the assumption that something should be a confidential document, "right off the bat."

"I'm not crazy about [its] being put into law, but it's essentially what we get stuck doing a lot of times now," Angell said of the procedure of going to court to get autopsy documents.

Gingery said he could foresee situations where a news organization would have a legitimate need to see autopsy photos, for example to have an expert review a coroner's determination of a person's cause of death.

"There are reasons why media or a member of the public would need photos," Gingery said. "All I'm trying to say is, 'Let's not give it to someone unless they have a reason to need it.' Not just to put it on the Internet to fascinate people."

Gingery said he sponsored similar legislation that failed to pass in 2005. He said he agreed to try again after a woman approached him to express concern that a newspaper had published information about her daughter after her suicide.

The Wyoming Legislature will consider Gingery's bill and other legislation when it convenes this month.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on January 01, 2011 (boomark / email).