Chap. 334.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 1568 and 1581 of the Code of
Virginia, which sections are in chapter 66 of the said Code on the subject of
vital statistics, section 1727 of the Code of Virginia, which section is in cha
ter 72 of the said Code on the subject of the practice of embalming and the
transportation and disposition of dead bodies, and sections 4806, 4814 and
4818 of the Code of Virginia, which sections are in chapter 190 of the said
Code on the subject of coroners’ inquests. {H B 217]

Approved March 20, 1924.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
fifteen hundred and sixty-eight, fifteen hundred and eighty-one, seven-
teen hundred and twenty-seven, forty-eight hundred and six, forty-
eight hundred and fourteen, and forty-eight hundred and eighteen of
the Code of Virginia, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 1568. Provisions in case of death without medical attend-
ance.—In case of death occurring without medical attendance, it shall
be the duty of the undertaker or other person acting as such to notify
the local registrar of such death, and when so notified the registrar shall
inform the nearest member of the county board of health and refer the
case to him for immediate investigation and certification, prior to issuing
the permit; but if such member of the county board of health does not,
within twenty-four hours, certify such death, and in such cases only,
the registrar is authorized to make the certificate and return from the
statement of relatives or other persons having adequate knowledge of
the facts. If the death is caused by unlawful or suspicious means, the
registrar shall then refer the case to the coroner for his investigation and
certification. Provided, however, that in the cities of the Commonwealth
all such cases of death without medical attendance shall be referred to
the coroner for immediate investigation and certification. Any coroner
whose duty it is to hold an inquest on the body of any deceased person,
and to make the certificate of death required for burial permits, shall
state in his certificate the name of the disease causing death, or if from
external causes, (1) the means of death; (2) whether (probably) acci-
dental, suicidal, or homicidal; and shall in either case, furnish such in-
formation as may be required by the State registrar in order properly
to classify the death.

Section 1581. Penalties imposed for violations hereof.—Any physi-
cian who was in medical attendance upon any deceased person at the
time of death who shall wilfully neglect or refuse to make out and de-
liver to the undertaker, sexton, or other person in charge of the inter-
ment, removal, or other disposition of the body, upon request, the med-
ical certificate of the cause of death, hereinbefore provided for, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars. If any physi-
cian shall knowingly make a false certification of the cause of death, in
any case, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon convic-
tion thereof shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than two
hundred dollars.

Any physician or midwife in attendance upon a case of confinement,
or any other person charged with responsibility for reporting births, in
the order named in section fifteen hundred and seventy-three, who shall
wilfully neglect or refuse to file a proper certificate of birth with the
local registrar, within the time required by this chapter, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined
not less than one dollar nor more than ten dollars.

Any undertaker, sexton or other person acting as undertaker, who
shall inter, remove or otherwise dispose of the body of a deceased person,
without having received a burial or removal permit as herein provided,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof
shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hun-
dred dollars.

Any registrar, deputy registrar or sub-registrar who shall wilfully
neglect or fail to enforce the provisions of this chapter in his district, or
who shall wilfully neglect or refuse to perform any of the duties imposed
upon him by this chapter, or by the instructions and directions of the
State registrar, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one dollar nor more than
ten dollars.

Any person who shall wilfully alter any certificate of birth or death,
or the copy of any certificate of birth or death, on file in the office of the
local or State registrar shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more
than one hundred dollars, or be imprisoned in the county Jail not ex-
ceeding sixty days, or both in the discretion of the court.

Any other person or persons who shall wilfully violate any of the
provisions of this chapter, or who shall wilfully neglect or refuse to per-
form any duties imposed upon them by the provisions of this chapter,
or shall furnish false information to a physician, undertaker, midwife,
or informant, for the purpose of making incorrect certification of births
or deaths, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon convic-
tion thereof, shall be fined not less than five dollars nor more than one
hundred dollars.

Section 1727. When coroner’s permission necessary before embalm-
ing.—It shall be unlawful to embalm a dead human body, when any
fact within the knowledge, or brought to the attention of, the embalmer
is sufficient to arouse suspicion of crime in connection with the cause of
death of the deceased, until the permission of the coroner, or of a justice
of the peace, if there be no coroner, has been first obtained. In any
‘case where it is the duty of the coroner to view the body of a deceased
person, it shall be unlawful to embalm the said body until the permission
-of the said coroner has first been obtained.

Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined
not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars.

Section 4806. Coroner to be notified of any sudden, violent, un-
natural or suspicious death, or death without medical attendance; his
warrant.—It shall be the duty of the physician, undertaker, or other
person in attendance, to notify the coroner of any sudden, violent, un-
natural or suspicious death, or a death without medical attendance,
and upon notice of such a death, the coroner of the city of Richmond,
if the dead body be in the penitentiary, and in any other case the coroner
of the county or corporation in which the dead body is, shall view the
body and make inquiry into the circumstances of the said death, and
after an inquiry had as aforesaid, if facts are revealed sufficient to create
in the mind of the said coroner a reasonable belief that the person whose
body he shall have been called to view came to his or her death by murder
or manslaughter, or by the contrivance, aiding, procuring, or other mis-
conduct of any person or persons, he shall issue a warrant to the follow-

ing effect: {6.00.0 eee cece county (or corporation of........
bo ceeeeeeececeesseeeceececceeseeeeeeeees , to-wit: To the sheriff (or sergeant), or any
constable Of................c0002020cceeceeeeeeee county (or the corporation of............
aseeeceensceneceesceeecesseeesenscees: ): You are required to summon six jurors of the
county (or corporation) Of.............0.0... ee eee to attend before me,
@ coroner of said county (or corporation), at the dwelling house of
wocceeneecesseesseesseceeeeessecpesseesesecencceesseeeeseses (or at. a place called............................),
in said county (or corporation), at the house of....................2 eee ;

‘to inquire, upon the view of the body of.............. eee eects
(or a person unknown), there lying dead, when, how, and by what
means he came to his death. ,

“Given under my hand this................ 0 FA 0)

Section 4814. How burial of deceased and expense of coroner’s pro-
ceedings shall be paid. If the dead person be a stranger, whether an
inquest be taken, or the coroner called to view the body think it unneces-
sary to have an inquest, he shall cause the body to be decently buried.
If the coroner certify that he believes the deceased has not sufficient
estate, in this State, to pay the expenses of the burial, they shall, when
allowed by the court of the coroner’s county or corporation, be paid
out of the treasury. If the deceased has estate out of which the burial
expenses can be paid, or any part thereof, then such estate shall be taken
for such purpose. If the deceased be not a stranger and no other person
causes the body to be buried, the coroner, whether an inquest be taken
or not, shall cause the body to be decently buried; and if there is suffi-
cient estate of the deceased to pay the burial expenses, or any part
thereof, then such estate shall be taken for such purpose; but if there be
no such estate then such burial expense shall be paid out of the treasury
of the county or corporation of which the deceased was a resident at
the time of his death. If the deceased be a stranger the expense of the
coroner’s proceedings shall be paid out of the State treasury, and if
not a stranger, out of the treasury of the county or corporation of which
he was resident at the time of death. No expense incurred either for
burial or for the coroner’s proceedings shall be paid until allowed by the
court of the coroner’s county or corporation to which his return 1s prop-
erly to be made, except that in cities having a city‘manager form of
government it shall not be necessary to have any expense account herein
mentioned, payable out of the city treasury, presented to the court for
allowance.

Jurors who serve on a coroner’s inquest shall be allowed one dollar
and a half for each day he shall serve as such.