Can a New York elected county coroner also serve as the chief investigator for the district attorney's office?

Plain-English summary

Columbia County's attorney asked whether the district attorney could hire one of the four elected county coroners as the office's chief investigator. The chief investigator job description had the position acting under the personal direction of the DA and serving as the DA's personal representative at crime scenes. The coroner's job is to determine cause of death.

The Attorney General's office concluded the two offices were incompatible. New York coroners (and medical examiners) by statute conduct death investigations independently, including for deaths involving suspected criminal acts. The Court of Appeals had previously held in People v. Washington (1995) that a medical examiner's duties are independent of, and not subject to control by, the district attorney's office, and that medical examiners are not law enforcement agencies. The same logic applies to coroners, whose statutory functions parallel medical examiners'.

A coroner who simultaneously answered to the DA as chief investigator could not maintain that statutory independence at scenes of suspicious deaths. The dual role would blur whose hat was on at the scene, deter witnesses, and color the cause-of-death investigation with prosecutorial considerations.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Historical context

What the opinion meant for counties at the time

In counties that elected coroners (rather than appointing a medical examiner), the opinion meant the coroner could not be employed as the chief investigator for the district attorney. The same person could not occupy both offices, even if the salaries or budgets made the combination administratively convenient.

Why two earlier opinions did not change the result

Two prior AG opinions had been read by some readers to permit similar combinations. The 2016 opinion distinguishes both:

• Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 89-27 noted that in Madison County, the Legislature had specifically transferred the coroner's powers to the district attorney; the same was done in Lewis County by County Law § 400(3-a). But the bill jackets for those statutes recorded concerns about exactly this incompatibility, and the Legislature in § 400(3-a) and (3-b) prohibited other counties from making the same combination locally. Far from authorizing the practice, the legislative history confirmed it was problematic.
• Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 81-27, which suggested a part-time DA could also serve as a medical examiner's investigator, focused on whether the DA could receive additional pay and predated People v. Washington's definitive statement on medical examiner independence.

What the opinion meant for coroner candidates

A person elected coroner could not also accept employment as the DA's chief investigator (or, by extension, hold any position in the DA's office that operated under the prosecutor's direct control during death-scene work). The two had to be held by different individuals.

Common questions

Q: What is the doctrine of incompatibility of office?
A: A common-law doctrine under which one person cannot hold two public offices when the duties of the offices conflict in a way that would prevent faithful performance of either. It is recognized broadly in New York Attorney General opinions and case law.

Q: Why is independence so important for a coroner?
A: Coroners and medical examiners must determine cause of death without bias toward prosecution or defense. The Court of Appeals in People v. Washington held that a medical examiner is not a law enforcement agency, has no authority to gather evidence with an eye toward prosecution, and is not subject to control by the district attorney.

Q: What types of deaths does a coroner investigate in New York?
A: Per County Law § 673, every death within the county that is or appears to be: (1) a violent death (criminal violence, suicide, casualty); (2) caused by unlawful act or criminal neglect; (3) suspicious, unusual, or unexplained; (4) caused by suspected criminal abortion; (5) unattended by a physician; or (6) of a person confined in a public institution other than a hospital, infirmary, or nursing home. The coroner also investigates deaths of inmates in county correctional facilities under § 671(1)(b).

Q: What about cooperation between coroners and prosecutors?
A: Cooperation is required and statutorily structured. County Law § 674(3)(a) requires the coroner to ascertain facts the DA, sheriff, chief of police, or State Police superintendent requests in writing. Section 677(4) requires the coroner to deliver records to the DA when there is an indication of a crime. Cooperation differs from being supervised by, or employed within, the prosecutor's office.

Q: Are there counties where the DA does hold coroner powers?
A: Yes, by specific Legislature-enacted statute (Madison and Lewis Counties), but County Law § 400(3-a) and (3-b) bar other counties from replicating the combination through home rule.

Background and statutory framework

New York's death-investigation system gives every county the choice between an elected coroner (or coroners) and an appointed medical examiner. County Law § 400(1), (2), (4-a). A medical examiner must be a licensed physician. § 400(4-a). A coroner is either a licensed physician or is assisted by an appointed coroner's physician. § 400(4-b); § 671(1).

The investigator's duties are extensive: investigate the enumerated categories of death, gather facts, subpoena and examine witnesses under oath as a magistrate would (§ 674(4)), and deliver records to the prosecutor when the death appears criminal (§ 677(4)). All of this is to be done independently. The Court of Appeals' opinion in People v. Washington squarely held the medical examiner was independent of the prosecutor; the AG opinion treats coroners and coroners' physicians as covered by the same rule because their statutory duties mirror the medical examiner's.

Combining the coroner role with employment that answers directly to the DA undermines that statutory independence at exactly the moment when it matters most: at the scene of a death potentially caused by a criminal act.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- N.Y. County Law § 193 (general county officers)
- N.Y. County Law § 400(1), (2), (3-a), (3-b), (4-a), (4-b) (death-investigation offices)
- N.Y. County Law § 671(1), (1)(b) (coroner duties)
- N.Y. County Law § 673, 673(2) (categories of deaths investigated)
- N.Y. County Law § 674(2), (3)(a), (4) (investigation; subpoena power)
- N.Y. County Law § 677(4) (records to district attorney)

Cases and prior opinions:
- People v. Washington, 86 N.Y.2d 189 (1995), medical examiner independent of district attorney; not a law enforcement agency
- Scheufler v. Bruno, 250 A.D.2d 268 (3d Dep't 1999), medical examiner does not act under DA direction; investigation not part of criminal proceeding
- Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 87-30 (coroner cannot also serve as town police officer)
- Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 89-27 (Madison County DA holds coroner powers by specific Legislature-enacted statute, not generalizable)
- Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 81-27 (predates People v. Washington; focused on additional pay)
- 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) 176 (board of supervisors must appoint duly licensed physician if coroner is not so licensed)

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/2016-4_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

COUNTY LAW §§ 193, 400(1), 400(2), 400(3-a), 400(3-b), 400(4-a), 400(4-b), 671(1), 671(1)(b), 673, 673(2), 674(2), 674(3)(a), 674(4), 677(4)

The positions of elected county coroner and chief investigator for the district attorney are not compatible.

December 12, 2016

Robert J. Fitzsimmons
County Attorney
Columbia County
401 State Street, Suite 2B
Hudson, NY 12534

Informal Opinion
No. 2016-4

Dear Mr. Fitzsimmons:

You have requested an opinion as to whether the district attorney for the county can employ one of the four elected county coroners as chief investigator. Your question in essence is whether the positions of elected county coroner and chief investigator are compatible. As explained below, we are of the opinion that they are not.

You have provided a job description that states that the position of chief investigator in the district attorney's office functions under the personal direction of the district attorney. In addition, the chief investigator acts as the district attorney's personal representative at the scene of a crime.

The County Law provides, as a general matter, that each county must have, for the purpose of investigating certain enumerated types of deaths, either an elected coroner (or coroners) or a medical examiner appointed by the county legislature. County Law § 400(1),(2),(4-a). A medical examiner must be a physician licensed in New York. Id. § 400(4-a). A coroner must either be a physician licensed in New York, or be assisted in specified respects by a "coroner's physician," who must be a physician licensed in New York, see County Law § 400(4-b); id. § 671(1); see also 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) 176 (board of supervisors must appoint duly licensed physician if coroner is not so licensed), appointed by the county legislature. Id. §§ 400(4-b), 673(2).

The coroner, assisted where necessary by the coroner's physician, or the medical examiner, investigates every death within the County that is or appears to be (1) a violent death, whether by criminal violence, suicide, or casualty; (2) a death caused by unlawful act or criminal neglect; (3) a death occurring in a suspicious, unusual or unexplained manner; (4) a death caused by a suspected criminal abortion; (5) a death while unattended by a physician, so far as can be discovered, or where no physician able to certify the cause of death can be found; and (6) a death of a person confined in a public institution other than a hospital, infirmary, or nursing home. County Law § 673. The coroner, assisted where necessary by the coroner's physician, or the medical examiner also investigates all deaths of inmates of correctional facilities within the County, whether or not the death occurred inside the facility. Id. § 671(1)(b).

Upon taking charge of the body of a deceased person, the coroner, the coroner and the coroner's physician, or the medical examiner must "fully investigate the essential facts concerning the death." County Law § 674(2). The investigation must include steps to ascertain any facts the district attorney, sheriff, chief of police, or superintendent of the State Police requests in writing. Id. § 674(3)(a). Furthermore, a coroner, a coroner and coroner's physician, and a medical examiner are empowered to subpoena and examine witnesses under oath in the same manner as a magistrate in holding a court of special sessions. Id. § 674(4). And, when, in the opinion of the coroner, the coroner's physician, the medical examiner, or other doctor performing the autopsy, there is an indication that a crime was committed, the coroner or doctor must deliver to the district attorney copies of the records relating to the death. Id. § 677(4).

This statutory scheme demonstrates that the elective office of coroner, with its responsibility to render an impartial determination of the cause of death, has a role independent of and distinct from those of law enforcement officers. The Court of Appeals, considering the duties of the medical examiner, which are by statute identical to those of a coroner or a coroner and coroner's physician, has found "that the duties of the [medical examiner] are, by law, independent of and not subject to the control of the office of the prosecutor, and that [the medical examiner] is not a law enforcement agency." People v. Washington, 86 N.Y.2d 189, 192 (1995). "Moreover, Medical Examiners have no authority to gather evidence with an eye toward prosecuting a perpetrator." Id. at 193. See also Scheufler v. Bruno, 250 A.D.2d 268, 270-71 (3d Dep't 1999) (medical examiner does not act under direction and control of district attorney and investigation is not part of criminal proceeding); Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 87-30 (coroner must perform duties independently and thus coroner may not also serve as town police officer). And it is this independence that, in our opinion, renders the office of coroner fundamentally incompatible with the position in the district attorney's office that you have described. The coroner's independence and impartiality would erode or would appear to erode if the coroner also held a position in the district attorney's office that answered directly to the county's chief law enforcement officer. At the scene of a death potentially caused by a criminal act, it would be unclear whether the coroner was acting in his capacity of coroner or of chief investigator for the district attorney. A witness to the death who could provide valuable information to the coroner might be wary of providing the same information to the chief investigator for the county prosecutor. And in the course of the coroner's investigation into the cause of death, the coroner's consideration of the circumstances surrounding the death would be colored by his responsibilities as chief investigator to the district attorney. We therefore are of the opinion that a coroner cannot also serve as the chief investigator to the district attorney as you have described that position.

You have cited two opinions that suggest that the duties of district attorney and of coroner, and presumably, by extension, those of an investigator for the district attorney and of coroner, may be combined. First, in Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 89-27, we recognized that, by state law, the powers and responsibilities of coroner in Madison County were granted to the district attorney. Similarly, the Legislature transferred the powers and duties of the Lewis County coroner to that county's district attorney. See County Law § 400(3-a). However, potential conflicts between the duties of the positions rendering the positions incompatible were noted in the legislative history to the statutes authorizing the combination. Letter to John G. McGoldrick, Counsel to the Governor, from Edward V. Regan, State Comptroller (Jul. 16, 1982), reprinted in Bill Jacket for ch. 759 (1982); Letter from Francis S. McGarvey, Superintendent of Div. of State Police, to Roswell B. Perkins, Counsel to the Governor (Feb. 26, 1959), reprinted in Bill Jacket for ch. 536 (1959), at 12; Letter from Alfred W. Haight, Counsel to the Comptroller, to Roswell B. Perkins, Counsel to the Governor (Apr. 3, 1959), reprinted in Bill Jacket for ch. 536 (1959), at 15. Moreover, the Legislature prohibited other counties from using their home rule authority to similarly combine the responsibilities to be exercised by a single person, see County Law § 400(3-a), (3-b). The Legislature thereby indicated that the combining of the functions of the offices was not a determination to be made locally.

Second, in Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 81-27, we seemed to suggest that a part-time district attorney could also be employed as a medical examiner's investigator. But our focus in that opinion was on whether the district attorney could receive additional pay for his work as investigator. Notably, we did not compare the responsibilities of the two positions to determine whether they were compatible. And in any event, that opinion preceded the Court of Appeals' unequivocal statement in People v. Washington as to the independence of the medical examiner's function, equally applicable to a coroner's function.

The Attorney General issues formal opinions only to officers and departments of state government. Thus, this is an informal opinion rendered to assist you in advising the municipality you represent.

Very truly yours,

KATHRYN SHEINGOLD
Assistant Solicitor General
in Charge of Opinions