MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: County Affairs; Judiciary A

By: Representative Stevens

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 19-25-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE SHERIFF OF EACH COUNTY MAY EMPLOY THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER OR THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER INVESTIGATOR AND/OR DEPUTY EXAMINERS OR INVESTIGATORS AS DEPUTIES FOR THE SHERIFF; TO AMEND SECTION 41-61-57, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY SUCH MEDICAL EXAMINER OR INVESTIGATOR EMPLOYED AS A DEPUTY FOR THE SHERIFF MAY PERFORM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT DUTIES OF A REGULAR DEPUTY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 63-11-5 AND 63-11-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE A MEDICAL EXAMINER OR INVESTIGATOR SERVING AS A DEPUTY FOR THE SHERIFF TO PERFORM CHEMICAL TESTS OR BREATH, BLOOD OR URINE TESTS UNDER THE IMPLIED CONSENT LAW; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 19-25-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

19-25-21. The minimum number of deputies having law enforcement duties for each sheriff shall be based upon the total population of his county according to the latest federal decennial census in the following categories:

(a) In counties with a total population of more than fifty thousand (50,000), the sheriff shall regularly employ a minimum of five (5) deputies having law enforcement duties;

(b) In counties with a total population of more than thirty-five thousand (35,000), and not more than fifty thousand (50,000), the sheriff shall regularly employ a minimum of four (4) deputies having law enforcement duties;

(c) In counties with a total population of more than twenty-five thousand (25,000), and not more than thirty-five thousand (35,000), the sheriff shall regularly employ a minimum of three (3) deputies having law enforcement duties;

(d) In counties with a total population of more than fifteen thousand (15,000), and not more than twenty-five thousand (25,000), the sheriff shall regularly employ a minimum of two (2) deputies having law enforcement duties;

(e) In all other counties, the sheriff shall regularly employ a minimum of one (1) deputy sheriff having law enforcement duties.

In those counties comprised of two (2) judicial districts having a total population of thirty-five thousand (35,000) or more, there shall be not less than two (2) deputies in the judicial district in which the sheriff does not reside, one (1) of whom shall be the chief deputy in charge of the office, all of whom shall be subject to the direction of the sheriff. In those counties comprised of two (2) judicial districts having a total population of less than thirty-five thousand (35,000), there shall be at least one (1) deputy in the judicial district in which the sheriff does not reside who shall be subject to the direction of the sheriff.

Each deputy sheriff who shall have law enforcement duties shall, at the expense of the county, attend and complete an appropriate curriculum in the field of law enforcement at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Academy within one (1) year from the date of his appointment, excluding those who have previously served as sheriff, or have had at least five (5) years' experience as a full-time law enforcement officer, or have previously successfully completed a course of training at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Academy or at the Jackson Police Academy. Any deputy sheriff exempted from attendance at the initial course as herein provided because of previous service as sheriff or having five (5) years' full-time law enforcement experience must have served as sheriff or obtained such experience within a period of ten (10) years prior to the date of his taking the oath of office. Any deputy sheriff exempted from attendance because of successful completion of a course of training at either of the aforementioned academies must have completed such course within five (5) years prior to the date of his taking the oath of office. Each deputy sheriff shall thereafter, on a periodic and continuing basis, attend additional advanced courses in law enforcement at said academy in order that each deputy sheriff will be properly informed and trained in the modern, technical advances in the field of law enforcement.

In addition to any other deputies employed under this section, the sheriff may employ as a deputy sheriff the county medical examiner or the county medical examiner investigator and/or one or more deputy county medical examiners or deputy county medical examiner investigators of the county.

SECTION 2. Section 41-61-57, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-61-57. (1) There are hereby created the positions of county medical examiners and county medical examiner investigators, to be established as herein provided through successful completion of the death investigation training school provided for in subsection (5) of this section. Each county medical examiner (CME) shall be a doctor of medicine (M.D.) or osteopathic medicine (D.O.) licensed in the State of Mississippi. Each county medical examiner investigator (CMEI) shall be a nonphysician who shall, as a minimum, possess a high school graduation diploma or its equivalent. Extra consideration for the CMEI position may be given for experience and/or training in health-related fields and medicolegal death investigations.

(2) Each coroner elected in the 1987 general election and thereafter, upon successful completion of the death investigation training school provided for in subsection (5) of this section, shall be recognized as a county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator, according to the qualifications set out in subsection (1) of this section, and shall be designated the chief for the county in which he was elected. If the elected or appointed coroner fails to successfully complete the death investigation training school, and thus is unable to take the oath of office, as provided in Section 19-21-105, there shall promptly be appointed a coroner pro tempore in the manner prescribed by Section 9-1-27, and that person shall be designated the chief county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator until the time of the next death investigation training school, which he must successfully complete or be removed from office. Any elected coroner who has failed to successfully complete the death investigation training school may attend any subsequent death investigation training school conducted during the term for which he was elected, and upon the successful completion thereof, he shall become the chief CME or CMEI for the county in which he was elected. The coroner pro tempore then shall become a deputy CME or CMEI, provided he has successfully completed the death investigation training school. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, each coroner holding office on July 1, 1986, shall be the chief CME or CMEI for the county in which he was elected through the expiration of his term in January 1988 without having to attend the death investigation training school; however, he may voluntarily attend any such school conducted prior to that time.

(3) There shall be at least one (1) county medical examiner and/or county medical examiner investigator for each county, and one (1) county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator shall be designated as the chief for each county, except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section. Any county may have deputy county medical examiners or deputy county medical examiner investigators as deemed necessary who shall be appointed jointly by the board of supervisors and the CME or CMEI. However, when the population of a county reaches a total of twenty thousand (20,000) or greater, there shall be one or more officially appointed deputies. Deputies shall be subject to the same qualifications, training and certification requirements, and shall possess the same authority and discharge the same duties, as other county medical examiners or county medical examiner investigators, and shall receive fees and expenses as provided in Sections 41-61-69 and 41-61-75. Any CME or CMEI may be removed by the State Medical Examiner prior to the expiration of his term as CME or CMEI for inefficiency, or other good cause, after written notice and a hearing in compliance with due process law.

(4) One (1) person may serve as the chief CME or CMEI for two (2) or more adjacent counties when that person consents and the boards of supervisors of each county involved and the State Medical Examiner consent in writing. Each respective county involved shall be responsible for payment for the services given to that county by the chief CME or CMEI.

(5) Chief and deputy CME's and CMEI's shall attend the death investigation training school provided by the Mississippi Crime Laboratory and the State Medical Examiner, and shall successfully complete subsequent testing on the subject material by the State Medical Examiner at least once every four (4) years. Room, board and transportation expenses for attending the school shall be borne by the county in which the CME or CMEI is serving. In addition to the above training, the individual shall receive at least twenty-four (24) hours annually of continuing education as prescribed and certified by the State Medical Examiner. If the above requirements for training or continuing education are not met, the individual immediately shall be disqualified and removed from office as CME and/or CMEI. Reapplication for the office may be made the following year after removal.

(6) The CME or CMEI and/or a deputy CME or CMEI may be employed by the sheriff of the county as a deputy sheriff under Section 19-25-21, and when so employed may perform any of the law enforcement duties of a regular deputy sheriff as provided by Section 19-25-19.

SECTION 3. Section 63-11-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-11-5. (1) Any person who operates a motor vehicle upon the public highways, public roads and streets of this state shall be deemed to have given his consent, subject to the provisions of this chapter, to a chemical test or tests of his breath for the purpose of determining alcohol concentration. A person shall give his consent to a chemical test or tests of his breath, blood or urine for the purpose of determining the presence in his body of any other substance which would impair a person's ability to operate a motor vehicle. The test or tests shall be administered at the direction of any highway patrol officer, any sheriff or his duly commissioned deputies, any county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator or any deputy county medical examiner or deputy county examiner investigator serving as a deputy sheriff under Section 19-25-21, any police officer in any incorporated municipality, any national park ranger, any officer of a state-supported institution of higher learning campus police force if such officer is exercising this authority in regard to a violation that occurred on campus property, or any security officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Security Officer Law of 1978 if such officer is exercising this authority in regard to a violation that occurred within the limits of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, when such officer has reasonable grounds and probable cause to believe that the person was driving or had under his actual physical control a motor vehicle upon the public streets or highways of this state while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any other substance which had impaired such person's ability to operate a motor vehicle. No such test shall be administered by any person who has not met all the educational and training requirements of the appropriate course of study prescribed by the Board on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training; provided, however, that sheriffs and elected chiefs of police shall be exempt from such educational and training requirement. No such tests shall be given by any officer or any agency to any person within fifteen (15) minutes of consumption of any substance by mouth.

(2) If the officer has reasonable grounds and probable cause to believe such person to have been driving a motor vehicle upon the public highways, public roads, and streets of this state while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, such officer shall inform such person that his failure to submit to such chemical test or tests of his breath shall result in the suspension of his privilege to operate a motor vehicle upon the public streets and highways of this state for a period of ninety (90) days in the event such person has not previously been convicted of a violation of Section 63-11-30, or, for a period of one (1) year in the event of any previous conviction of such person under Section 63-11-30.

(3) The traffic ticket, citation or affidavit issued to a person arrested for a violation of this chapter shall conform to the requirements of Section 63-9-21(3)(b).

(4) Any person arrested under the provisions of this chapter shall be informed that he has the right to telephone for the purpose of requesting legal or medical assistance immediately after being booked for a violation under this chapter.

(5) The Commissioner of Public Safety and the State Crime Laboratory created pursuant to Section 45-1-17 are hereby authorized from and after the passage of this section to adopt procedures, rules and regulations, applicable to the Implied Consent Law.

SECTION 4. Section 63-11-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-11-19. A chemical analysis of the person's breath, blood or urine, to be considered valid under the provisions of this section, shall have been performed according to methods approved by the State Crime Laboratory created pursuant to Section 45-1-17 and the Commissioner of Public Safety and performed by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the State Crime Laboratory for making such analysis. The State Crime Laboratory and the Commissioner of Public Safety are authorized to approve satisfactory techniques or methods, to ascertain the qualifications and competence of individuals to conduct such analyses, and to issue permits which shall be subject to termination or revocation at the discretion of the State Crime Laboratory. The State Crime Laboratory shall not approve the permit required herein for any law enforcement officer other than a member of the State Highway Patrol, a sheriff or his deputies, a county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator or any deputy county medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner investigator serving as a deputy sheriff under Section 19-25-21, a city policeman, an officer of a state-supported institution of higher learning campus police force, a security officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Security Officer Law of 1978, a national park ranger, a national park ranger technician, a military policeman stationed at a United States military base located within this state other than a military policeman of the Army or Air National Guard or of Reserve Units of the Army, Air Force, Navy or Marine Corps, or a conservation officer employed by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The permit given a conservation officer shall authorize such officer to administer tests only for violations of Sections 59-23-1 through 59-23-7.

The State Crime Laboratory shall make periodic, but not less frequently than quarterly, tests of the methods, machines or devices used in making chemical analysis of a person's breath as shall be necessary to ensure the accuracy thereof, and shall issue its certificate to verify the accuracy of the same.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1999.