NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7825
SPONSOR: Blake (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the county law and the correction law,
in relation to the correction medical review board's access to inmate
autopsies
PURPOSE OF THE BILL: To clarify an existing statutory duty of coron-
ers and medical examiners to promptly provide an inmate's autopsy and
toxicology report to the Commission of Correction's Medical Review
Board.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the proposal amends subdivision (5) of section 674 of the
County Law to clarify that a coroner or medical examiner shall promptly
perform, or cause to be performed, an autopsy and prepare an autopsy and
toxicological report with respect to the death of any inmate, notwith-
standing County Law section 670 or any other law.
Section 2 of the proposal amends subdivision (6) of section 677 of the
County Law to clarify that a coroner or medical examiner shall promptly
provide an inmate autopsy and toxicology report to the Commission of
Correction's Medical Review Board and the Commissioner of the Department
of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), notwithstanding County
Law section 670 or any other law. The proposal would similarly clarify
the statutory entitlement of the Justice Center for the Protection of
People with Special Needs to autopsies of OMH, OCFS, DOH and SED facili-
ty residents.
Section 3 of the proposal amends subdivision (3) of section 46 of the
correction law to allow the Commission of Correction to apply for an
order of the Supreme Court where a coroner or medical examiner fails to
provide the Commission with an inmate autopsy and toxicology report
pursuant to the County Law.
Section 4 makes the proposal effective immediately.
EXISTING LAW: County Law § 674(5) requires a coroner or medical exam-
iner to "promptly perform or cause to be performed an autopsy and to
prepare an autopsy report which shall include a toxicological report and
any report of any examination or inquiry with respect to any death
occurring within his county to an inmate of a correctional facility . .
. , whether or not the death occurred inside such facility." Further,
County Law § 677(6) provides that the coroner or medical examiner "shall
promptly provide the chairman of the Correction Medical Review Board . .
. with copies of any autopsy report, toxicological report or any report
of examination or inquiry prepared with respect to any death occurring
to an inmate." County Law § 670 renders inapplicable the previous two
sections, as well as the remainder of County Law Article 17A, where a
county's charter, local law or administrative code conflicts with or
limits any such provision of the County Law.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new proposal.
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT: In the wake of the Attica prison riots, Article
3 of the Correction Law was ratified in 1975 to restructure the Commis-
sion of Correction. Governor Hugh L. Carey's accompanying memorandum
stated that the "purpose of these bills is to establish a full-time and
vigorous watchdog organization to oversee the performance of the State
and local correctional system," and that "
it is of utmost importance
that there be some independent and effective oversight of the operations
of this system to assure the public that its performance meets or
exceeds acceptable standards." McKinney's' 1975 Session Laws of New
York, p. 1705.
Included in the reform was the formation of the Commission's Correction
Medical Review Board (MRB), which was charged by the New York State
Correction Law to investigate and review the cause and circumstances
surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility. Upon
such review, the MRB is tasked with submitting a report to the Commis-
sion, including appropriate recommendations to prevent the recurrence of
such deaths. To effectuate this duty, the Commission and its MRB are
entitled access to records and information otherwise held strictly
confidential and privileged, including medical and mental health
records, and records and information concerning HIV and AIDS.
Furthermore, Article 17-A of the County Law requires the coroner or
medical examiner of a county to perform an autopsy and toxicology exam
on each inmate who dies within the county, prepare an autopsy and toxi-
cology report, and promptly provide such reports to the Chair of the
MRB. Inexplicably, County Law § 670 provides that, where a county's
charter, local law or administrative code conflicts with or limits any
provision of County Law Article 17-A, the County Law is rendered inap-
plicable. Thus, county governments could theoretically negate their
medical examiner's duty to perform an autopsy on a deceased inmate by
passage of a local law. To date, MRB access to several inmate autopsies
has been substantially delayed by local law enforcement under the guise
of County Law § 670.
Failure to amend this statutory anomaly could result in an unnecessary
risk to the local inmate population. Where the MRB has been denied
prompt access to autopsy and toxicology reports, the resulting investi-
gation, review and report of an inmate's demise is consequentially
delayed, in some instances more than two years. As the only entity over-
seeing the healthcare delivery systems of local correctional facilities,
the MRB may thus not identify a dangerous individual or systemic condi-
tion that caused an inmate's death until an autopsy report is eventually
disclosed, leaving such condition to persist for the period the report
is withheld.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS: None.
LOCAL IMPACT: None.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
