22a-230. Same; inquest, when; jury; oath; subpoenas; arrest.
22a-230
22a-230. Same; inquest, when; jury; oath; subpoenas; arrest.(a) The coroner may hold an inquest upon the dead bodies of suchpersons whose deaths appear to have been caused by unlawful means when thecircumstances relating to such deaths are unknown. The inquest shall be heldin accordance with the provisions of this section. Except as provided insubsection (b), upon being notified of any such death occurring within thedistrict, if an inquest is to be held, the coroner shallsummon a jury of six residents of the countyin which the death occurred, at a time and place named, for the purpose ofinquiring into the cause of death. In any other case in which this actrequires that the coroner be notified, the coroner may also summon six citizensof the county to appear at a time and place named.
(b) When the coroner has been notified of any death as provided insubsection (a), and the cause of such death occurred in a county other than thecounty in which the death occurred, the coroner of the county in which thecause of death occurred shall take the responsibility of summoning a jury asprovided in subsection (a) for the purpose of inquiring into the death, ifrequested to do so by the coroner of the county in which the death occurred.
(c) If any juror fails to appear, the coroner shall summon the propernumber from bystanders immediately, and proceed to impanel them and administerthe following oath, in substance: "You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that youwill diligently inquire and true presentment make, when, how and by what meansthe person whose body lies here dead came to death, according to yourknowledge, and evidence given you. So help you God."
(d) The coroner may issue subpoenas forwitnesses, returnable forthwith, or at such time and place as the coroner shalltherein direct. Witnesses shall be allowed the fees provided in K.S.A.28-125and amendments thereto. In cases of disobedience of the coroner's subpoena, itshall be the duty of the judge of the district court, on application of thecoroner, to compel obedience to the coroner's subpoena by indirectproceedings for contempt as in cases of disobedience of a subpoena issued fromthe district court.
(e) An oath shall be administered to the witness, in substance as follows:"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the testimony which you shall give tothis inquest, concerning the death of the person here lying dead, shall be thetruth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God."
(f) The testimony shall be reduced to writing, under the coroner's order,and subscribed by the witness.
(g) The jurors, having inspected the body, if available, heard thetestimony, and made all needful inquiries, shall return to the coroner theirinquisition in writing, under their hands, in substance as follows, and statingthe matter in the following form suggested, as far as found:
State of Kansas, __________ County.
An inquisition held at ______________, in ______________ county, on the________ day of ______, A.D., year__, before me, ______coroner of such county,on the body of ______________ (or, a person unknown), there lying dead; by thejurors whose names are hereunto subscribed. The jurors, upon their oaths, dosay (here state when, how, by what person, means, weapon or accident theperson died, and whether feloniously). In testimony whereof, the jurors havehereunto subscribe, the day and year aforesaid.Which shall be attested by the coroner.
(h) If the inquisition finds a crime has been committed on the deceased,and name the person the jury believes has committed the crime, the inquestshall not be made public until after the arrest directed in the nextsubsection.
(i) If the person charged is present, the coroner may order the personarrested by an officer or any other person, and shall then make a warrantrequiring the officer or other person to take the arrested person before ajudge of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(j) If the person charged is not present, the coroner may issue a warrantto the sheriff of the county, directing the sheriff to arrest the person andtake the arrested person before a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(k) The warrant of a coroner in the above case shall be of equal authoritywith that of a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction. When the personcharged is brought before the court, the person charged shall be dealt with asa person held under a complaint in the usual form.
(l) The warrant of the coroner shall recite substantially the transactionbefore the coroner, and the verdict of the jury of inquest leading to thearrest. The warrant shall be a sufficient foundation for the proceeding of thecourt instead of a complaint.
(m) The coroner shall then return to the clerk of the district court theinquisition, the written evidence and a list of the witnesses who testified tomaterial matters.
(n) The district coroner shall receive such compensation, in addition toother compensation provided by law for the coroner, for holding an inquest asspecified by thecounty commissioners of a single-county judicial district or the countycommissioners of the county with the largest population in multiple-countyjudicial districts.
History: L. 1963, ch. 166, § 6;L. 1969, ch. 143, § 4;L. 1976, ch. 124, § 1;L. 1993, ch. 214, § 5;L. 2000, ch. 54, § 1; July 1.