Title 7, Criminal Procedure

Impaneling of bystanders as jurors; oath. If any juror fails to appear, the coroner shall immediately summon the proper number from the bystanders and proceed to impanel them. He shall administer the following oath: "You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will diligently inqu…

Issuance of subpoenas; witness fees; enforcement of attendance. The coroner may issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses to testify at the inquest. Witnesses shall be allowed the same fees as in cases before a circuit court, and the coroner shall have the same autho…

Oath of witness; recording of testimony; compensation of reporter. An oath shall be administered to each witness as follows: "You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the testimony which you shall give to this inquest concerning the death of the person about whom this inquest is be…

Return of inquisition by jury. After hearing testimony and making necessary inquiries, the jurors shall return to the coroner their signed inquisition stating the name of the person and when, how and by what means, if known, he came to his death.

Coroner's return to court. The coroner shall return to the district court the inquisition, the written evidence and a list of witnesses providing material testimony.

Disposition of body and effects of deceased. (a) When the coroner investigates the death of a person whose body is not claimed by a friend or relative within five (5) days of the date of discovery and whose death does not require further investigation, he shall cause the body to …

Authority of sheriff to perform duties of coroner. If there is no coroner, deputy coroner or in case of their absence, or inability to act, the county sheriff of the same county, the state health officer pursuant to W.S. 35-1-241, or the coroner of another county if there is a jo…

Postmortem examination; liability limitation. (a) When an inquisition is being held, if the coroner or the jury shall deem it requisite, he may summon one (1) or more physicians or surgeons, to make an autopsy or postmortem examination. (b) If it is necessary to obtain or preserv…

Fees and mileage; salary. (a) The coroner or deputy coroner of each county within this state shall receive fees and mileage, if any, as set by the board of county commissioners. (b) The board of county commissioners shall set the salary of the coroner and deputy coroner. A corone…

Board of coroner standards. (a) There is created a board of coroner standards. The board shall consist of one (1) chairman and six (6) members appointed by and who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor as follows: (i) One (1) shall be a physician with a specialty in patholo…

Required court order for summoning. A grand jury shall be summoned only when ordered by a judge of the district court.

Manner of summoning; term. A grand jury shall be selected, summoned and impaneled in the same manner as trial juries in civil actions and shall serve for one (1) year following selection unless discharged sooner by the district judge.

Composition; qualifications; alternates. (a) A grand jury shall consist of twelve (12) persons who shall possess the qualifications of trial jurors as provided by W.S. 1-11-101. (b) The district judge may direct the selection of one (1) or more alternate jurors who shall sit as r…

Finding of indictment. (a) No indictment shall be found unless the finding is concurred in by at least nine (9) members of the grand jury. (b) Not less than nine (9) jurors may act as the grand jury in which event it is required that all of them concur in finding an indictment. (…

Appointment of foreman; oath of jurors. (a) The district judge shall appoint one (1) of the jurors to be foreman. The foreman is authorized to administer oaths to witnesses and shall sign indictments as provided by W.S. 7-5-104. (b) Before entering upon their duties, an oath or a…

Charging of duties; powers. (a) After the grand jury is impaneled and sworn, the district judge shall charge the jurors as to their duties particularly to the obligation of secrecy which their oaths impose, and give them any information the court deems proper concerning any offen…

Right of district attorney to appear before jury; presence of other persons during deliberations. (a) The district attorney, or the deputy or assistant district attorney may appear before the grand jury for the purpose of: (i) Giving information relative to any matter under inqui…

Process for witnesses. If requested by the grand jury or the district attorney, the clerk of the court in which the jury is impaneled shall issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses to testify before the grand jury.

Administration of oath or affirmation to witnesses. Before any witness is examined by the grand jury, an oath or affirmation shall be administered to him by the foreman.

Proceedings upon refusal of witness to testify. If a witness appearing before a grand jury refuses, without just cause shown, to testify or provide other information, the district attorney may take the witness before the court for an order directing the witness to show cause why …

Secrecy of indictments against persons not under control. The district judge may direct that an indictment shall be kept secret until the defendant is in custody or has given bail, and in that event the clerk shall seal the indictment and no person shall disclose the finding of t…

Confidentiality. (a) Disclosure of matters occurring before the grand jury, other than its deliberations and the vote of any juror, may be made to the district attorney for use in the performance of his duties. The district attorney may disclose so much of the grand jury's procee…

Presentation and filing of indictment. Indictments found by the grand jury shall be presented by the foreman to the court in the presence of the jury and filed with the clerk.

Petition for impaneling; determination by district judge. If the attorney general or the governor deems it to be in the public interest to convene a grand jury which shall have jurisdiction extending beyond the boundaries of any single county, he may petition the judge of any dis…

Powers and duties; applicable law; procedural rules. A state grand jury shall have the same powers and duties and shall function in the same manner as a county grand jury, except for the provisions of W.S. 7-5-202(b)(ii), and except that its jurisdiction shall extend throughout t…

Selection and term of members. The district judge granting the petition to convene a state grand jury shall impanel the state grand jury from a base jury list for the state compiled by the supreme court. The district court judge may specify that the base jury list for the state n…

Summoning of jurors. Jurors shall be summoned and selected in the same manner as jurors of county grand juries.

Judicial supervision. Judicial supervision of the state grand jury shall be maintained by the district judge who issued the order impaneling the grand jury, and all indictments, reports and other formal returns of any kind made by the grand jury shall be returned to that judge.

Presentation of evidence. The presentation of the evidence shall be made to the state grand jury by the attorney general or his designee. In the event the office of the attorney general is under investigation, the presentation of evidence shall be made to the state grand jury by …

Return of indictment; designation of venue; consolidation of indictments. Any indictment by the state grand jury shall be returned to the district judge without any designation of venue. Thereupon, the judge shall, by order, designate the county of venue for the purpose of trial.…

Investigative powers; secrecy of proceedings. (a) In addition to its powers of indictment, a statewide grand jury impaneled under W.S. 7-5-301 through 7-5-309 may, at the request of the attorney general, cause an investigation to be made into the extent of organized criminal acti…

Costs and expenses. The costs and expenses incurred in impaneling a state grand jury and in the performance of its functions and duties shall be paid by the state out of funds appropriated to the attorney general for that purpose.

Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Public Defender Act".

Definitions. (a) As used in this act: (i) Repealed by Laws 1989, ch. 121, § 2. (ii) Repealed by Laws 1989, ch. 121, § 2. (iii) "Expenses", when used with reference to representation under this act, include the expenses of investigation, other preparation and trial; (iv) "Needy pe…

Creation of office of state public defender; appointment of state public defender and assistants; duties; removal. (a) There is created the office of the state public defender. The office of the state public defender shall be deemed a state agency for budgeting purposes pursuant …

Representation of needy persons. (a) The public defender shall represent as counsel any needy person who is under arrest for or formally charged with having committed a serious crime if: (i) The defendant requests counsel; or (ii) The court, on its own motion or otherwise, orders…

Advisement of rights; appointment of attorney. (a) A needy person who is being interrogated by law enforcement personnel for a serious crime, or who is a probationer or parolee, shall be informed of his right to be represented by an attorney at public expense. If the person being…

Determination of need; reimbursement for services. (a) The determination of whether a person covered by W.S. 7-6-104 is a needy person shall be deferred until his first appearance in court or in a suit for payment or reimbursement under W.S. 7-6-108, whichever occurs earlier. The…

Waiver of rights. A person who has been advised of his rights under W.S. 7-6-105 may waive any right provided by this act if at the time of or after waiver, the court finds that the person has acted with full awareness of his rights and of the consequences of a waiver and if the …

Recovery of payment. (a) Within six (6) years after the date the services were rendered, the attorney general may sue on behalf of the state to recover payment or reimbursement from each person who has received legal assistance or other benefits under this act or, in the case of …

Appointment of outside attorney. (a) Nothing in this act shall prevent a court on its own motion or upon application by the state public defender or by the individual defendant, from appointing an attorney other than the public defender to represent the defendant or to assist in …

Use of state or private facilities. (a) The public defender or an appointed defending attorney is entitled to use the same state facilities for the evaluation of evidence as are available to the prosecuting attorney. If it appears the use of state facilities is unavailable or ina…

Office space. The county commissioners of each county shall provide suitable office space and utility services, other than telephone service, for the use of the state public defender and his assistants. If suitable office space for all assistant public defenders cannot be provide…

Applicability of provisions. (a) This act does not apply to: (i) Matters arising out of an action pending in the juvenile courts of this state unless it is in a juvenile delinquency proceeding or a child in need of supervision proceeding; (ii) Representation of an individual in p…

Funding. (a) The total state and federal funding of the public defender program shall be eighty-five percent (85%) of the state public defender budget. (b) Each county shall appropriate funds to supplement the state public defender budget in accordance with an equitable formula d…

Other legal protections or sanctions. The protections provided by this act do not exclude any protection or sanction that the law otherwise provides.