Could a South Carolina coroner use a blue light or investigate a crash without a death?

Plain-English summary

In a 1996 informal letter to a police chief, an assistant deputy attorney general addressed whether a coroner could use a blue light and appear at a nonfatal accident without being called. He repeated an earlier AG opinion's conclusion that a coroner could use a blue light while traveling to and from actual coroner duties because coroners had limited law enforcement authority. The letter expressly said this did not confer general law enforcement authority.

On the accident question, the author said a coroner's jurisdiction generally involved a death. He described the coroner's duty to investigate and determine causes of death, including violent or suspicious deaths, and emphasized cooperation between coroners and police at accident or crime scenes. He declined to make factual findings about a particular incident, so the letter did not decide a specific coroner's conduct at a nonfatal crash. Two earlier opinions were enclosed but are not reproduced here.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. 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.

Common questions

Q: Did the 1996 letter say a coroner could use a blue light for any trip?
A: No. It repeated an earlier AG view allowing use while going to or returning from actual coroner duties.

Q: Did blue-light authority make a coroner a general police officer?
A: No. The letter expressly limited the conclusion and said it did not grant general law enforcement authority.

Q: Was a nonfatal crash within a coroner's ordinary jurisdiction?
A: The author described the jurisdiction as generally involving a death. He did not resolve the facts of a particular crash.

Q: What relationship did the letter describe between coroners and police at a scene?
A: It called for cooperation and respect for each officer's distinct duties, referring to an earlier enclosed opinion.

Background and statutory framework

The author quoted an earlier interpretation of S.C. Code Ann. Sec. 56-5-4700 (C), a blue-light provision limiting such lights to vehicles used primarily for law enforcement purposes. He also discussed the statutory duty to order an autopsy or postmortem examination when a body is found dead and the coroner's traditional responsibility to inquire into sudden deaths. Those authorities framed his limited responses to the chief's two questions.

This was an informal opinion signed by an assistant deputy attorney general, not a formal opinion personally reviewed by the Attorney General.

Citations and references

• Blue-light provision: S.C. Code Ann. Sec. 56-5-4700 (C).

Official title

Asking whether a coroner may use a blue light and whether a coroner possesses the authority to show up at a non-fatal accident when not called to the scene.

Requester

Aaron D. Madden, Chief of Police, Chester Police Department

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/december-16-1996/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/96dec16madden.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHARLES MOLONY CONDON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 16, 1996

Aaron D. Madden
Chief of Police
Chester Police Department
2740 Dawson Drive
Chester, South Carolina 29706
Re: Informal Opinion
Dear Chief Madden:
You have asked whether a coroner may use a blue light and whether a coroner possesses the authority to show up at a non-fatal accident when not called to the scene. With respect to your first question, I have enclosed a copy of an Opinion of this Office, dated June 27, 1991 which addresses the issue. Such Opinion interprets S.C. Code Ann. Sec. 56-5-4700 (C) which provides that it is unlawful to possess any flashing, oscillating or rotating blue light on any vehicle except one "used primarily for law enforcement purposes." We concluded that
[i]n as much as a coroner is considered in limited respects to possess certain law enforcement authority, it appears that a coroner in going to and returning from his actual duties as a coroner may use a blue light in that vehicle. Of course, this authority should not be construed as granting coroners law enforcement authority generally. With respect to your second question, you wish to know whether a coroner may investigate a non-fatal accident when not called to the scene. Of course, this Office is not

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PosTOFFICE Box 11549

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COLUMBIA.

s.c. 292!!-1549

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TELEPHONE:

803-734-3970

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FACSIMILE: 803-253-6283

Chief Madden
Page 2
December 16, 1996
authorized to make factual findings, Op.Atty.Gen., Dec. 12, 1983 and thus anything I say herein should not be deemed to comment upon any specific fact situation. However, I would note that Section 17-7-10 of the Code provides that ''[t]he coroner of the county in which a body is found -dead ... shall order an autopsy or postmortem examination to be conducted to ascertain the cause of death." ~oreover, it is generally recognized that "[t]he coroner has the duty to determine and certify causes of death for proper classification, whenever a body is found ... and to investigate and determine whether decedent has died from violent, unexplained causes or under suspicious circumstances." 18 C.J.S., Coroner, § 8. As was stated by our Court in Giles v. Brown, 1 Mill Const. 230, the coroner's judicial duties at common law related to inquiries into cases of sudden deaths at the place where the death happened. And as we noted in an Opinion dated April 22, 1968
[e]ach county in the State has a coroner whose duty it is to hold investigations, termed inquests, in order to determine the cause of deaths which occur in the county. The coroner is not required to hold an inquest in the case of every case, but only in those cases where he decides initially whether there ought to be a trial or whether blame probably attaches to any living person for the death. In the case of a killing, such as by accident or by traffic fatality, a coroner's inquest is usually held to determine the cause of death, and if anyone is criminally responsible for such death the result of the inquest will be to cause the arrest of that individual. Thus, it is clear that as a general matter, a coroner's jurisdiction, involves the death of an individual. I have enclosed a copy of an Informal Opinion that I wrote, dated March 22, 1995, which summarizes the relationship between the duties of coroners and law enforcement officers investigating a crime or accident scene. As you can see from this lnfonnal Opinion, · it is important that coroners and law enforcement officers cooperate and work together fully in carrying out their respective duties, each giving full respect and deference to the work of the other. This letter is an informal opinion only. It has been written by a designated Assistant Deputy Attorney General and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as to the specific questions asked. It has not, however, been personally scrutinized by the Attorney General nor officially published in the manner of a formal opinion.

Chief Madden
Page 3
December 16, 1996
With kind regards, I am

~Oum,
Robert D. Cook
Assistant Deputy Attorney General
RDC/ph
Enclosures