22a-226. District coroner; qualifications; nomination; appointment; term; compensation; vacancies; oath; deputy coroners.
22a-226
22a-226. District coroner; qualifications; nomination; appointment;term; compensation; vacancies; oath; deputy coroners.(a) There is hereby established the office of district coronerin each judicial district of the state. The district coroner shall be aresident of the state of Kansas licensed to practice medicine andsurgery by the state board of healing arts or shall be a resident ofa military or other federal enclave within the state and shall be dulylicensed to practice medicine and surgery within such enclave.
(b) The local medical society or societies in each judicial districtshallnominate one or more candidates for the office ofdistrict coroner and submit the names of the persons so nominated to the countycommissioners of asingle-county judicial district or the county commissioners of the county withthe largest population in multiple-county judicial districts on or beforeJanuary 1, 1995, and every four years thereafter. The county commissioners of asingle-county judicial districtor the county commissioners of the county with the largest population inmultiple-county judicial districtsshall appoint a district coroner forthe district. The appointee may be one of the persons nominated or someother qualified person.
(c) Thedistrict coroner shall serve for a term of four years, which termshall begin on the second Monday in January of the year in whichsuch coroner isappointed, and such coroner's compensation shall be as providedby law. Vacanciesin the office of district coroner shall be filled in the same manner asappointments for regular terms of district coroner. Such an appointmentshall be for the remainder of the regular term and shall be effectivefrom the date the coroner is appointed and is otherwise qualified for theoffice.
(d) The coroner shall, before entering upon the duties of the office,take and subscribe an oath or affirmation that such coroner will faithfully,impartially and to the best of the coroner's skill and ability discharge theduties of district coroner.
(e) The district coroner, with the approval of the county commissioners of asingle-countyjudicial district or the county commissioners of the county with the largestpopulation in multiple-county judicial districts,may appoint one or more deputy coroners, who shall have thequalifications of and shall have the same duties and authority as thedistrict coroner, except that, whenever a district coroner isunable to appoint a qualified deputy, a special deputy coroner who doesnot possess the requisite qualifications may be appointed for a term notto exceed one year or until a qualified deputy is appointed,whichever occurs first. The district coroner shall have supervisoryauthority over all deputy coroners. Deputy coroners, before enteringupon the discharge of their duties shall take and subscribe an oath oraffirmation to faithfully discharge the dutiesof their office to thesame extent and with like effect as the district coroner.
(f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a district coroner from beingappointed as district coroner in more than one judicial district.
History: L. 1963, ch. 166, § 1; L. 1965, ch. 164, § 9; L.1969, ch. 143, § 1; L. 1974, ch. 116, § 1; L. 1980, ch. 94, § 3;L. 1986, ch. 115, § 29;L. 1993, ch. 214, § 2; July 1.