Mississippi Administrative Code

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…

All death investigation training, including continuing education, for Mississippi Coroner Medical Examiners (Chief and Deputy County Medical Examiners and County Medical Examiner Investigators) shall be certified by the State Medical Examiner's Office in accordance with Mississip…

All individuals who are elected or appointed as Medical Examiner Investigator or Deputy Medical Examiner Investigator, before taking the oath of Office, must attend the Death Investigation Training School provided by the Mississippi Crime Laboratory and the State Medical Examiner…

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 Mississippi Crime Laboratory and State Medical Examiner. This ordinarily will be a one or …

No substitutions can be made for the five day Basic Death Investigation 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 must successfully complete testing on the subject material by the State Medical Examiner. This includes those individuals who have substituted alternate forms of training for either the Interim or Advance…

Every Medical Examiner 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 inc…

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. …

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 Crime Lab pursuant to the Adminis…

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 Crime Lab, part of the rulemaking record, and are subject to the Crime Lab's public records request proced…

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 Crime Lab'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 Crime Lab's procedures regarding the disposition of requests as required by Mi…

The Crime Lab will issue declaratory opinions regarding the applicability to specified facts of: 1. a statute administered or enforceable by the Crime Lab, 2. a rule promulgated by the Crime Lab, or 3. an order issued by the Crime Lab. Notes 31 Miss. Code. R. 503-1.3 Miss. Code A…