Mississippi Administrative Code

All County Medical Examiner ("CME") and County Medical Examiner Investigator ("CMEI") removal proceedings will be conducted by the State Medical Examiner's Office pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-57. 1. Hearing Officer: The Hearing Officer shall be the State Medical Examiner o…

All CMEs, DMEs, CMEIs, and DMEIs shall use the Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS) for all deaths and adhere to the following guidelines: 1. The CME/DME/CMEI/DMEI shall certify all reported deaths in accordance with statutory guidelines (see Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-63). 2…

The purpose of the Designated Pathologist Program is to identify, recruit and assist qualified Pathologists to perform consultations and to provide autopsy service in support of the Mississippi Medicolegal Death Investigation System. Pathologists so designated should have adequat…

1. All Designated Pathologists will be physicians (M.D. or D.O.) licensed to practice medicine in the State of Mississippi, and will be Board Certified or Board Eligible in Anatomic Pathology and have a special interest in Forensic Pathology. 2. All autopsy reports will be comple…

1. The purpose of the Committee is to assist the State Medical Examiner's Office in the selection and supervision of qualified Designated Pathologists and to develop and maintain a Quality Assurance - Enhancement Program concerning the activities of those Designated Pathologists.…

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…

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 county medical examiner/investigator of the county in which the death occurs as required by Miss…

The State Medical Examiner's Office consists of the Chief Medical Examiner and Deputy Chief Medical Examiners (i.e., physicians who are board-certified in Forensic Pathology) and other staff who assist the Chief Medical Examiner in carrying out the responsibilities of the Office.…

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 the Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-59, medical attendance must be wi…

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. "Medically unexpected" is defined as a death that is unassociated with known natural disease and the decedent's comorbidities. So that proper inves…

1. When a death is reported as provided for in Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-59, and the physical remains of a deceased person, regardless of visually recognizable condition, lack a presumptive identification, are partially or completely skeletonized, or require further analysis to con…

In all Medical Examiner cases referred to the State Medical Examiner for postmortem examination, the County Medical Examiner Investigator shall place a numbered Coroner Seal on the body bag in such a manner so as to prevent unauthorized access to the decedent and associated perso…

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…

All individuals who are elected or appointed as County Medical Examiners/Investigators or Deputy Medical Examiners/Investigators, before taking the oath of Office, must attend the Basic Death Investigation Training School provided by the State Medical Examiner and theMississippi …

If an occasion arises requiring appointment of a Deputy or Chief Medical Examiner/Investigator during that period of time between scheduled Basic Death Investigation courses, individuals thus appointed may be permitted to take Office upon completion of the Interim Medicolegal Dea…

All individuals who have attended the Basic Death Investigation Training School must, at least once every four years, attend the Advanced Death Investigation Training School provided by the State Medical Examiner andMississippi Forensics Laboratory. This ordinarily will be a one …

No substitutions can be made for the five day Basic Death Investigative Training School. If attendance at the school becomes difficult or impossible due to illness or other emergencies, the candidate should contact the State Medical Examiner immediately regarding alternative arra…

All individuals completing the Basic, Interim and Advanced Training Courses and recertification requirements must successfully complete testing on the subject material administered by the State Medical Examiner's Office. This includes those individuals who have substituted altern…

Every CME/DME/CMEI/DMEI is required to complete a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours of continuing education as certified by the State Medical Examiner, during each successive twelve (12) month period following election or appointment. Acceptable continuing education activities in…

All County Medical Examiner ("CME") and County Medical Examiner Investigator ("CMEI") removal proceedings will be conducted by the State Medical Examiner's Office pursuant toMiss. Code Ann. § 41-61-57. 1. Hearing Officer: The Hearing Officer shall be the State Medical Examiner or…

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…

This chapter consists of model rules for oral proceedings held to provide the public an opportunity to comment on submissions made under the Administrative Procedures Act and the Rules in this Title. The Secretary of State's Office is required to provide these model rules under M…

This chapter applies to all oral proceedings held for the purpose of providing the public with an opportunity to make oral presentations or written input on proposed new rules, amendments to rules, and proposed repeal of existing rules before the State Medical Examiner's Office p…

When a political subdivision, an agency, or a citizen requests an oral proceeding in regards to a proposed rule adoption, the requestor must submit a printed, typewritten, or legibly handwritten request. 1. Each request must be submitted on 8-1/2" x 11" white paper. 2. The reques…

Notice of the date, time, and place of all oral proceedings shall be filed with the Secretary of State's Office for publication in the Administrative Bulletin. The agency providing the notice shall provide notice of oral proceedings to each requestor. The oral proceedings will be…

Public participation shall be permitted at oral proceedings in accordance with the following: 1. At an oral proceeding on a proposed rule, persons may make statements and present documentary and physical submissions concerning the proposed rule. 2. Persons wishing to make oral pr…

Physical and Documentary Submissions presented by participants in an oral proceeding shall be submitted to the presiding officer. Such submissions become the property of the State Medical Examiner, part of the rulemaking records, and are subject to the State Medical Examiner's pu…

This chapter consists of model rules addressing the public's request for declaratory opinions and an agency's disposition of requests for declaratory opinions. The Secretary of State's Office is required to provide these model rules under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-43-2.105. Agencies a…

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…