Title CR, Code of Criminal Procedure

Art. 49.041. REOPENING AN INQUEST. A justice of the peace may reopen an inquest if, based on information provided by a credible person or facts within the knowledge of the justice of the peace, the justice of the peace determines that reopening the inquest may reveal a different …

Art. 49.05. TIME AND PLACE OF INQUEST; REMOVAL OF PROPERTY AND BODY FROM PLACE OF DEATH. (a) A justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest immediately or as soon as practicable after the justice receives notification of the death. (b) A justice of the peace may conduct an inque…

Art. 49.06. HINDERING AN INQUEST. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly hinders the entrance of a justice of the peace to a premises where a death occurred or a body is found. (b) An offense under this article is a Class B misdemeanor. Amended b…

Art. 49.07. NOTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATING OFFICIAL. (a) A physician or other person who has possession of a body or body part of a person whose death requires an inquest under Article 49.04 of this code shall immediately notify the justice of the peace who serves the precinct in …

Art. 49.08. INFORMATION LEADING TO AN INQUEST. A justice of the peace conducting an inquest may act on information the justice receives from any credible person or on facts within his knowledge. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Repealed by Act…

Art. 49.09. BODY DISINTERRED OR CREMATED. (a) If a body or body part subject to investigation under Article 49.04 of this code is interred and an authorized person has not conducted an inquest required under this subchapter, a justice of the peace may direct the disinterment of t…

Art. 49.10. AUTOPSIES AND TESTS. (a) At his discretion, a justice of the peace may obtain the opinion of a county health officer or a physician concerning the necessity of obtaining an autopsy in order to determine or confirm the nature and cause of a death. (b) The commissioners…

Art. 49.11. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. (a) A justice of the peace may obtain a chemical analysis of a sample taken from a body in order to determine whether death was caused, in whole or in part, by the ingestion, injection, or introduction into the body of a poison or other chemical sub…

Art. 49.12. LIABILITY OF PERSON PERFORMING AUTOPSY OR TEST. A person who performs an autopsy or makes a test on a body on the order of a justice of the peace in the good faith belief that the order is valid is not liable for damages if the order is invalid. Amended by Acts 1987, …

Art. 49.14. INQUEST HEARING. (a) A justice of the peace conducting an inquest may hold an inquest hearing if the justice determines that the circumstances warrant the hearing. The justice shall hold an inquest hearing if requested to do so by a district attorney or a criminal dis…

Art. 49.15. INQUEST RECORD. (a) A justice of the peace or other person authorized under this subchapter to conduct an inquest shall make an inquest record for each inquest he conducts. The inquest record must include a report of the events, proceedings, findings, and conclusions …

Art. 49.16. ORDERS AND DEATH CERTIFICATES. The justice of the peace or other person who conducts an inquest under this subchapter shall sign the death certificate and all orders made as a necessary part of the inquest. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 529, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. …

Art. 49.17. EVIDENCE. A justice of the peace shall preserve all tangible evidence that the justice accumulates in the course of an inquest that tends to show the real cause of death or identify the person who caused the death. The justice shall deposit the evidence with the appro…

Art. 49.18. DEATH IN CUSTODY. (a) If a person confined in a penal institution dies, the sheriff or other person in charge of the penal institution shall as soon as practicable inform the justice of the peace of the precinct where the penal institution is located of the death. (b)…

Art. 49.19. WARRANT OF ARREST. (a) A justice of the peace who is conducting an inquest of a death under this subchapter may issue a warrant for the arrest of a person suspected of causing the death if: (1) the justice has knowledge that the person caused the death of the deceased…

Art. 49.20. REQUISITES OF WARRANT. A warrant of arrest issued under Article 49.19 of this code is sufficient if it: (1) is issued in the name of "The State of Texas"; (2) specifies the name of the person whose arrest is ordered or, if the person's name is unknown, reasonably desc…

Art. 49.21. COMMITMENT OF HOMICIDE SUSPECT. At the conclusion of an inquest, if a justice of the peace finds that a person who has been arrested in the case caused or contributed to the death of the deceased, the justice may: (1) commit the person to jail; or (2) require the pers…

Art. 49.22. SEALING PREMISES OF DECEASED. (a) If a body or body part that is subject to an inquest under Article 49.04 of this code is found on premises that were under the sole control of the deceased, a justice of the peace or other person authorized under this subchapter to co…

Art. 49.23. OFFICE OF DEATH INVESTIGATOR. (a) The commissioners court of a county may establish an office of death investigator and employ one or more death investigators to provide assistance to those persons in the county who conduct inquests. A death investigator employed unde…

Art. 49.24. NOTIFICATION AND REPORT OF DEATH OF RESIDENT OF INSTITUTION. (a) A superintendent or general manager of an institution who is required by Article 49.04 to report to a justice of the peace the death of an individual under the care, custody, or control of or residing in…

Art. 49.25. MEDICAL EXAMINERS Sec. 1. OFFICE AUTHORIZED. Subject to the provisions of this article, the commissioners court of any county having a population of more than 2.5 million shall establish and maintain the office of medical examiner, and the commissioners court of any c…

Art. 49.31. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not apply to an autopsy that: (1) is ordered by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or an authorized official of the department in accordance with Section 501.055, Government Code; or (2) a justice of the peace or medical exami…

Art. 49.32. CONSENT TO POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this article, a physician may not perform, or assist in the performance of, a postmortem examination or autopsy on the body of a deceased person unless the physician obtains the …

Art. 49.33. PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO CONSENT TO POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY. (a) Subject to Subsections (b) and (c) of this article, consent for a postmortem examination or autopsy may be given by any member of the following classes of persons who is reasonably available, in t…

Art. 49.34. POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY CONSENT FORM. The commissioner of state health services, in consultation with the Texas Medical Board, shall prescribe a standard written consent form for a postmortem examination or autopsy. The form must: (1) include the name of the…

Art. 49.35. RIGHT TO NONAFFILIATED PHYSICIAN. (a) A person authorized to consent to a postmortem examination or autopsy under Article 49.33 of this code may request that a physician who is not affiliated with the hospital or other institution where the deceased person died: (1) p…

Art. 49.51. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 748 (H.B. 881), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2019. (2) "Parent" has the meaning assigned by Section 160.102(11), Family Code. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 777 (S.B. 239), Sec. 1,…

Art. 49.52. RIGHT OF PARENT OF DECEASED PERSON TO VIEW PERSON'S BODY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (c), a parent of a deceased person is entitled to view the person's body before a justice of the peace or the medical examiner, as applicable, for the county in which…