Jefferson County Coroner
The Jefferson County Coroner / Medical Examiner's Office (JCCMEO) is an investigative office charged with conducting "medicolegal death investigations", to establish the identity of unknown deaths that occur in the county, and the cause and manner of unexplained or violent deaths, or deaths which occur under the custody of public officials. The office does not usually investigate deaths associated with documented medical causes or which occur under the care of a physician, unless associated with a public health hazard upon request of the Jefferson County Health Officer.
The office of coroner was established with the founding of Jefferson County in 1819 and was originally an elected office with no medical qualifications. The County Coroner would solicit opinions from experts during an inquest.
That office was abolished by state law in May 1931, and later restored as an office, to be filled by appointment of the Jefferson County Commission. A January 1977 law replaced that arrangement with a "medical examiner" position for which board certification as a forensic pathologist was a requirement. That same year the coroner's office was relocated from the Jefferson County Courthouses in Birmingham and Bessemer to Cooper Green Hospital.
The current law (Act of Alabama 1979-454) was passed on July 26, 1979, creating the modern Jefferson County Coroner / Medical Examiner's Office, also established a Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Commission to develop detailed procedures for death investigations. In the case of violent deaths, deputy coroners usually begin their investigation at the scene, followed by an external examination at the JCCMEO morgue and an autopsy if required. Reports of medicolegal death investigations are used in criminal investigation and prosecutions, as well as in civil litigation, insurance claims, deposition of estates, and as data for public safety and public health studies and policy-making. To that end, the office creates an aggregate annual report of its investigations for statistical study.
The JCCMEO is accredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners and certified by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators. The office participates in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) to assist in identifying unknown remains and identifying and notifying the next of kin.
The coroner's office supervises the Jefferson County Burial Program when relatives cannot be identified or are unable to afford funeral services. These burials take place at the Jefferson County Cemetery in Morris.
Coroners
- G. W. Marshall, 1884
- Alfred Babbitt, 1888
- W. D. Paris, 1908
- Jesse Russum, 1928
- T. J. Collum, 1940
- Robert Brissie, 1980–2013
- Greg Davis, 2013–
References
- Wade, Nathaniel Lane (2013) "Documenting death: Transitioning from a county coroner system to a medical examiner system in Jefferson County, Alabama" Master of Public Administration thesis. UAB. ProQuest UMI# 1543898
External links
- Coroner/Medical Examiner at jccal.org