Public Safety

Declaratory opinions and requests for declaratory opinions shall be available for public inspection and copying at the expense of the viewer during normal business hours. All declaratory opinions and requests shall be indexed by name, subject, and date of issue. Declaratory opini…

This chapter sets forth the State Medical Examiner's rules governing the form, content, and filing of requests for declaratory opinions, the procedural rights of persons in relation to the written requests, and the State Medical Examiner's procedures regarding the disposition of …

The State Medical Examiner will issue declaratory opinions regarding the applicability to specified facts of: 1. a statute administered or enforceable by the State Medical Examiner, 2. a rule promulgated by the State Medical Examiner, or 3. an order issued by the State Medical Ex…

A request must be limited to a single transaction or occurrence. Notes 31 Miss. Code. R. 403-1.4 Miss. Code Ann. § 25-43-2.105 (Rev 2006) . Adopted 10/18/2018

When a person with substantial interest, as required by Section 25-43-2.103 of the Administrative Procedures Act, requests a declaratory opinion, the requestor must submit a printed, typewritten or legibly handwritten request. 1. Each request must be submitted on 8-1/2" x 11" whi…

Any party who signs the request shall attest that the request complies with the requirements set forth in these rules, including but not limited to a full, complete, and accurate statement of relevant facts and that there are no related proceedings pending before any agency, admi…

Each request must contain the following: 1. A clear identification of the statute, rule, or order at issue; 2. The question for the declaratory opinion; 3. A clear and concise statement of all facts relevant to the question presented; 4. The identify of all other known persons in…

The State Medical Examiner may, for good cause, refuse to issue a declaratory opinion. The circumstances in which declaratory opinions will not be issued include, but are not necessarily limited to: 1. The matter is outside the primary jurisdiction of the State Medical Examiner; …

1. Within forty-five (45) days after the receipt of a request for a declaratory opinion which complies with the requirements of these rules, the State Medical Examiner shall, in writing: a. Issue an opinion declaring the applicability of the statute, rule, or order to the specifi…

1. The Public Records Policy of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety is promulgated pursuant to the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983, Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-1, et seq., as amended ("the Act"). All records and portions of records which are not exempt from disclosure …

1. "Public Record" means any book, record, paper, account, letter, map, photograph, film, card, tape, recording or reproduction thereof, and any other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, having been used, being in use or prepared, possessed or ret…

1. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety's Headquarters is located at 1900 E. Woodrow Wilson Avenue, Jackson, MS 39216. 2. Any person wishing to request access to public records of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, or seeking assistance in making such a request, …

Public records are available for inspection and copying during normal business hours of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding legal holidays. Records must be inspected at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety H…

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety will maintain its records in a reasonably organized manner. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety will take reasonable actions to protect records from damage and disorganization. A requestor shall not take original records from th…

1. Any person wishing to inspect or copy public records of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety should make the request in writing on the Mississippi Department of Public Safety's request form, or by letter, fax, or email addressed to the Legal Division, including in any s…

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety acknowledges that "providing access to public records is a duty" and that "any person shall have the right to inspect, copy or mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of any public record" in accordance with these policies. Miss…

If, after the Legal Division or Public Record Designee has informed the requestor that it has provided all available records, the Legal Division or Public Record Designee becomes aware of additional responsive documents existing at the time of the request, it will promptly inform…

1. Within seven (7) business days of receipt of a request, the Legal Division will do one or more of the following:1. Make the records available for inspection or copying; 2. If copies are requested and payment of a deposit for the copies, if any, is made or terms of payment are …

If the Mississippi Department of Public Safety does not respond in writing within seven (7) business days of receipt of the request for disclosure, the requestor should consider contacting the Legal Division to determine the reason for the failure to respond. Notes 31 Miss. Code.…

1. Some records are exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part. If the Mississippi Department of Public Safety believes that a record is exempt from disclosure and should be withheld, the Legal Division will state the specific exemption and provide a brief explanation of why the…

1. Consistent with other demands, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall promptly provide space to inspect public records. No member of the public may remove a document from the viewing area or disassemble or alter any document. The requestor shall indicate which docum…

1. After inspection is complete, the Legal Division or designee shall make the requested copies or arrange for copying. 2. Standard photocopies will be provided at $0.15 cents per page, with a minimum charge of $5.00 per request). Additional fees incident to document production m…

When the request is for a large number of records, the Legal Division or Public Records Designee will provide access for inspection and copying in installments if he or she reasonably determines that it would be practical to provide the records in that way. If, within thirty (30)…

When the inspection of the requested records is complete and all requested copies are provided, the Legal Division or Public Records Designee will indicate that the Mississippi Department of Public Safety has completed a diligent search for the requested records and made any loca…

When the requestor either withdraws the request or fails to fulfill his or her obligations to inspect the records or pay the deposit or final payment for the requested copies, the Legal Division or Public Records Designee will close the request and indicate to the requestor that …

The process for requesting electronic public records is the same as for requesting paper public records. Notes 31 Miss. Code. R. 5-5.1 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-61-1, et seq. Amended 11/25/2020 Amended 4/1/2021

When a requestor requests records in an electronic format, the Legal Division or Public Records Designee will provide the non-exempt records or portions of such records that are reasonably locatable in an electronic format that is used by the public body and is generally commerci…

With the consent of the requestor, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety may provide customized access if the record is not reasonably locatable or not reasonably translatable into the format requested. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety may charge the actual cost …

The Public Records Act, as well as other statutes and court decisions, provide that a number of types of documents are exempt from public inspection and copying. In addition, other statutes or rules of law, such as various privacy restrictions, may prohibit disclosure. Requestors…

1. When any person files or submits documents with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety which the filer contends are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act, the filer shall provide a written statement at the time of filing which shall describe the documents fi…

1. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-7(1) reads as follows: "Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, each public body may establish and collect fees reasonably calculated to reimburse it for, and in no case to exceed, the actual cost of searching, reviewing and/or duplicating…

The cost of electronic copies of records shall be $5.00 for information on a CD or DVD. There will be no charge for e-mailing electronic records to a requestor, unless another cost applies such as a scanning fee or system costs allowed under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-7(2). Other co…

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety may also charge actual costs of mailing, including the cost of the shipping container. Notes 31 Miss. Code. R. 5-8.3 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-61-1, et seq. Amended 11/25/2020 Amended 4/1/2021

1. Payment may be made by check or money order to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 2. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety may require payment in advance for all costs before providing copies or access to records. 3. Invoice for payment of copies must be return…

The actual cost of searching for and reviewing and, if necessary, redacting exempt information from public records, shall be based upon the hourly rate of compensation for the lowest paid agency employee qualified to perform the task, which shall be multiplied by the actual time …

Pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-13, if the Mississippi Department of Public Safety denies a requestor access to public records, the requestor may request the Ethics Commission to review the matter. The Ethics Commission has adopted rules on such requests. They may be found at…

Any person whose request for public records was denied may institute a suit in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, seeking to reverse the denial, as set forth in Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-13. Notes 31 Miss. Code. R. 5-9.2 Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-61-1, e…

All definitions set forth in Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-53 shall apply in these Rules and Regulations. When used in these Regulations, the term Medical Examiner Case means any human death required by Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-59 to be investigated and certified by the Medical Examiner…

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-65 provide that family members or others who disagree with a Medical Examiner's determination as to cause and manner of death shall be able to petition and present written argument to the State Medical Examiner for further review. If the petitioner still d…

Members of the public may obtain information or make submissions or requests concerning activities of the State Board of Medicolegal Death Investigations by contacting the State Medical Examiner's Office. Membership and activities of the Board are set forth in Miss. Code Ann. § 4…

An individual who sustains fatal injuries may, prior to death, be transported to a hospital in a county other than that in which injuries occurred. Such deaths must be reported to the Medical Examiner of the county in which the death occurs as required by Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-…

Where death is related to injury of any type as defined in Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-59, such death is subject to the jurisdiction of the Medical Examiner irrespective of the period of survival following the injury and whether or not there was medical attendance at the time of the …

1. Deaths due to natural causes are Medical Examiner cases unless the decedent is under the care of a medical or osteopathic physician for the natural disease process to which the decedent has succumbed. As provided in Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-59, medical attendance must be within…

1. Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-59 is specific as to which human deaths are subject to the investigation of the Medical Examiner. When such deaths occur in a hospital, clinic, doctor's office or other health care facility, the attending physician is responsible for notification of the…

In order for a death occurring during a therapeutic procedure to be a Medical Examiner case, the death must be medically unexpected. So that proper investigation can be made in Medical Examiner Cases, the attending physician must immediately notify the Medical Examiner when death…

In all Medical Examiner cases, the investigating Medical Examiner shall obtain specimens of blood, urine and/or vitreous humor as the condition of the body permits. If the patient has been treated in a hospital, emergency room, or other health care facility immediately prior to d…

Since the chemical compounds used in embalming may alter the characteristics of body tissues, make toxicologic procedures difficult and more costly, or render toxic agents undetectable, the Medical Examiner must completely examine the body of the deceased and obtain appropriate s…