Shades of 1963?
The Latest: Scalia’s body taken to Texas funeral home
http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/the-latest-in-death-scalia-honored-with-half-staff-flags/
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on developments following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (all times local):
10 a.m.
The body of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has been taken to a funeral home in El Paso, Texas, where officials are waiting to hear whether an autopsy will be performed.
Chris Lujan (loo-HAHN’) — a manager for Sunset Funeral Homes — says a procession that included about 20 law enforcement officers arrived early Sunday at the funeral home.
(snip)
Lujan says if an autopsy is ordered by Scalia’s family or a justice of the peace, then it likely will be performed at the funeral home by an El Paso County medical examiner.
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Scalia to have autopsy in Texas, according to state law
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/texas-news/scalia-to-have-autopsy-in-texas-according-to-state-law/42898331
DALLAS — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was found dead on a ranch outside Marfa on Saturday, is supposed to undergo an autopsy in Texas, according to state law.
Cibolo Creek Ranch in Presidio County, where Scalia was staying during a hunting trip, does not have a medical examiner, so the responsibility of a death inquest falls to the local justice of the peace.
When a person dies who is not in the care of a physician then an autopsy will be performed, according to Chapter 49 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
A coroner can waive an autopsy if no foul play is suspected and the cause of death is believed to be natural.
(snip)
Since Scalia is protected by federal police, they might argue that they are in charge of his body and will return it to Washington.
A similar situation famously played out in the emergency room at Parkland Memorial Hospital in November 1963 after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Local officials tried to retain Kennedy’s body for an autopsy but U.S. Secret Service agents took the president’s remains back to D.C.
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Seriously?
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