1. Every county in this State constitutes a coroner’s district,
except a county where a coroner is appointed pursuant to the provisions
of NRS 244.163 .
2. The provisions of this chapter, except NRS 259.025 and 259.150
to 259.180 , inclusive, do not apply to
any county where a coroner is appointed pursuant to the provisions of NRS
244.163 .
[1:107:1909; RL § 7542; NCL § 11425]—(NRS A 1963, 198; 1969, 664;
1979, 1368; 2005, 1063 )
Except
in any county where a coroner is appointed pursuant to NRS 244.163 , all sheriffs in this state are ex officio
coroners.
[Part 2:107:1909; A 1911, 58; 1949, 595; 1943 NCL § 11426]—(NRS A
1979, 1368)
1. The board of county commissioners of each county may create in
the county general fund an account for the support of the office of the
county coroner. The county treasurer shall deposit in that account the
money received from:
(a) The State Registrar of Vital Statistics pursuant to NRS 440.690
; and
(b) A district health officer pursuant to NRS 440.715 .
2. The money in the account must be accounted for separately and
not as a part of any other account.
3. The interest and income earned on the money in the account,
after deducting any applicable charges, must be credited to the account.
4. Claims against the account must be paid as other claims against
the county are paid.
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 8, the county
coroner may use the money in the account to pay expenses relating to:
(a) A youth program involving the office of the county coroner,
including, without limitation, a program of visitation established
pursuant to NRS 62E.720 ;
(b) Training for a member of the staff of the office of the county
coroner;
(c) Training an ex officio coroner and his deputies on the
investigation of deaths; and
(d) The purchase of specialized equipment for the office of the
county coroner.
6. Any money remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal
year does not revert to the county general fund and must be carried
forward to the next fiscal year.
7. Before the end of each fiscal year:
(a) The board of county commissioners of each county that
constitutes a coroner’s district pursuant to NRS 259.010 and which has created an account for the
support of the office of the county coroner pursuant to subsection 1
shall designate the office of a county coroner created pursuant to NRS
244.163 to receive the money in the
account.
(b) The county treasurer of each county that constitutes a
coroner’s district pursuant to NRS 259.010 and for which the board of county
commissioners has created an account for the support of the office of the
county coroner pursuant to subsection 1 shall transfer all money in the
account to the county treasurer of the county in which the office of the
county coroner designated pursuant to paragraph (a) is established.
(c) The county treasurer of the county in which the office of the
county coroner designated pursuant to paragraph (a) is established shall:
(1) Deposit all the money received pursuant to paragraph (b)
into the account created in that county pursuant to subsection 1; and
(2) Account for the money received from each county in
separate subaccounts.
8. The office of the county coroner designated to receive money
pursuant to subsection 7 may only use the money in each subaccount and
any interest attributable to that money to pay expenses which are
incurred in the county from which the money was transferred and which
relate to the training of an ex officio coroner and his deputies on the
investigation of deaths.
(Added to NRS by 2005, 1062 )
The coroner is entitled to
allowances for the expenses of any travel and subsistence which he
necessarily incurs in the performance of his duties.
[18:107:1909; A 1955, 60]—(NRS A 1979, 1368)
1. All coroners may appoint deputies, who are authorized to
transact such official business pertaining to the office as their
principals direct. Coroners are responsible for the compensation of the
deputies and are responsible on their official bonds for all official
malfeasance or nonfeasance of the deputies. The appointment of a deputy
must not be construed to confer upon that deputy policymaking authority
for the office of the county coroner or the county by which the deputy is
employed.
2. All appointments of deputies must be made in writing and must,
with the oath of office, be filed in the office of the recorder of the
county within which the principal holds and exercises his office.
[Part 2:107:1909; A 1911, 58; 1949, 595; 1943 NCL § 11426]—(NRS A
1979, 1368; 2005, 683 )
The coroner shall notify a decedent’s next of kin of the fact of
decedent’s death without unreasonable delay.
(Added to NRS by 1973, 900)
1. When a coroner or his deputy is informed that a person has been
killed, has committed suicide or has suddenly died under such
circumstances as to afford reasonable ground to suspect that the death
has been occasioned by unnatural means, he shall make an appropriate
investigation.
2. In all cases where it is apparent or can be reasonably inferred
that the death may have been caused by a criminal act, the coroner or his
deputy shall notify the district attorney of the county where the inquiry
is made, and the district attorney shall make an investigation with the
assistance of the coroner. If the sheriff is not ex officio the coroner,
the coroner shall also notify the sheriff, and the district attorney and
sheriff shall make the investigation with the assistance of the coroner.
3. The holding of a coroner’s inquest is within the sound
discretion of the district attorney or district judge of the county. An
inquest need not be conducted in any case of death manifestly occasioned
by natural cause, suicide, accident or when it is publicly known that the
death was caused by a person already in custody, but an inquest must be
held unless the district attorney or a district judge certifies that no
inquest is required.
4. If an inquest is to be held, the district attorney shall call
upon a justice of the peace of the county to preside over it. The justice
of the peace shall summon three persons qualified by law to serve as
jurors, to appear before him forthwith at the place where the body is or
such other place within the county as may be designated by him to inquire
into the cause of death.
5. A single inquest may be held with respect to more than one
death, where all the deaths were occasioned by a common cause.
[3:107:1909; A 1919, 60; 1949, 152; 1943 NCL § 11427]—(NRS A 1977,
666; 1979, 1369)
Every person
summoned as a juror who fails to appear without having a reasonable
excuse, shall forfeit a sum, not exceeding $100, to be recovered by the
district attorney, in any court of competent jurisdiction, and paid by
him into the county treasury.
[4:107:1909; RL § 7545; NCL § 11428]—(NRS A 1979, 1369)
When the jurors attend, they must be
sworn by the justice of the peace to inquire who the person was, and
when, where and by what means he came to his death, and into the
circumstances attending his death, and to render a true verdict thereon
according to the evidence.
[5:107:1909; A 1919, 60; 1919 RL § 7546; NCL § 11429]—(NRS A 1979,
1369)
1. Jurors of coroners’ juries (with not more than three persons
upon the jury) are entitled to receive for each day’s service $15, to be
certified to the county clerk by the justice of the peace, and audited,
allowed and paid as are other claims against the county.
2. When it is necessary for a coroner’s jury to travel a greater
distance than 1 mile to view the remains, or to the place where the
inquest is to be held, the necessary and actual expenses incurred for the
transportation of the jury must be allowed, audited and paid as are other
claims against the county, after having been duly certified by the
justice of the peace.
[Part 2:69:1919; A 1933, 68, 152; 1937, 210; 1949, 10; 1951, 107;
1953, 134]—(NRS A 1963, 348; 1979, 1370; 1983, 1010)
1. The justice of the peace may issue subpoenas for witnesses,
returnable as he may direct, and served by such person as he may direct.
2. He must summon and examine as witnesses every person who, in
his opinion or that of any of the jurors, has any knowledge of the facts,
and he may summon a qualified surgeon or physician to inspect the body,
or hold a postmortem examination thereon, or a chemist to make an
analysis of the stomach or the tissues of the deceased and give a
professional opinion as to the cause of the death.
3. The coroner may adjourn the inquest from time to time as may be
necessary.
[6:107:1909; A 1949, 595; 1943 NCL § 11430]—(NRS A 1979, 1370)
Any witness failing to obey the subpoena of the justice of the peace may
be attached and fined for contempt in like manner as in a Justice Court.
[7:107:1909; RL § 7548; NCL § 11431]—(NRS A 1979, 1370)
After
inspecting the body and hearing the testimony, the jury shall render
their verdict and certify the same by an inquisition in writing, signed
by them, and setting forth the name of the deceased, when, where and by
what means he came to his death; if by criminal means, the name of the
person causing the death.
[8:107:1909; RL § 7549; NCL § 11432]
The testimony at such an inquest must be
reduced to writing in such manner as the justice of the peace may direct,
and filed by him, without delay, in the office of the clerk of the
district court of the county.
[9:107:1909; RL § 7550; NCL § 11433]—(NRS A 1979, 1370)
If the jury finds that
the dead person was killed by another person under circumstances not
excusable or justifiable in law, and that the person who committed the
act is not in custody, the justice of the peace shall issue a warrant
signed by him, with his name of office, for the arrest of the accused.
[10:107:1909; RL § 7551; NCL § 11434]—(NRS A 1979, 1370)
The warrant of the
justice of the peace may be served in any county of the State, and the
officer serving such a warrant may return it before a magistrate of the
county in which it is issued. The officer receiving such a warrant has
the same power under the warrant as he would have by virtue of a warrant
from any court or magistrate of this state.
[11:107:1909; RL § 7552; NCL § 11435]—(NRS A 1979, 1370)
1. The coroner shall inventory, in the presence of at least one
other person, any money or property which may have been found on or about
the deceased, unless taken from his possession by legal authority, and
shall deliver without delay a signed copy of the inventory and the money
or property to the treasurer of the county. If the coroner fails to pay
or deliver such money or property to the county treasurer, the county
treasurer may recover it by an action at law.
2. The coroner shall affix appropriate seals, signs or other
devices prohibiting entrance to the residence of a deceased person who
had lived alone under circumstances indicating that no other person can
reasonably be expected to provide immediate security for the deceased’s
property. Any person, except the coroner, his deputy, a law enforcement
officer or the executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate, who
removes such a coroner’s seal, sign or other device or who enters upon
any property bearing such a seal, sign or other device is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
[12:107:1909; RL § 7553; NCL § 11436]—(NRS A 1977, 910; 1979, 14)
1. Upon payment of money into the county treasurer’s office in
such case, he shall place it to the credit of the county. Upon the
delivery of property, he shall:
(a) Deliver such property to the public administrator for
disposition according to law; or
(b) Give written notice to the public administrator of his
intention to sell such property at public sale.
2. If within 10 days after the giving of notice pursuant to
paragraph (b) of subsection 1, the public administrator claims the
property for disposition, the county treasurer shall deliver it to him.
3. If the public administrator does not claim the property as
provided in subsection 1, the county treasurer may, after giving notice
by posting at the courthouse for at least 10 days, sell the property at
public sale and place the proceeds to the credit of the county.
[13:107:1909; RL § 7554; NCL § 11437]—(NRS A 1969, 664)
If the money
or the proceeds from the sale of property are demanded within 6 years,
the county treasurer shall pay the same to the person legally authorized
to receive it, but the same may be paid at any subsequent time to the
representatives of the deceased upon an order from the tribunal invested
with the power to allow claims against the county.
[14:107:1909; A 1911, 59; RL § 7555; NCL § 11438]—(NRS A 1969, 664)
After the
inquest, if no one takes charge of the body, the coroner shall cause it
to be decently buried. The expenses of the burial must be paid from the
money deposited with the county treasurer or the estate of the deceased,
as the case may be. If the deceased has no money or estate, or the money
or estate of the deceased is insufficient to bear the entire cost of
burial, the county in which the deceased is buried shall bear the cost of
the burial in excess of any money or estate available.
[16:107:1909; RL § 7557; NCL § 11440]—(NRS A 1969, 664; 1979, 14)
1. A justice of the peace is entitled, for each day necessarily
employed in holding an inquest, to a fee of $23.
2. This fee must be paid out of the county treasury as other
demands against the county are paid.
[17:107:1909; A 1933, 259; 1949, 152; 1953, 127]—(NRS A 1979, 1370;
1993, 1353; 2001, 3213 )
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