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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 146.135 (2026)

Authority to order inquest

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      146.135 Authority to order inquest. (1) The district attorney for the county where the death occurs may order an inquest to obtain a jury finding of the cause and manner of death in any case requiring investigation.

      (2) For the purpose of conducting an inquest, the district attorney shall have the powers of a judicial officer as described by ORS 1.240 and 1.250.

      (3) The district attorney shall advise the jury of inquest as to its duties and instruct the jury on questions of law.

      (4) The district attorney shall cause a record of the inquest proceedings to be made which shall include the written order of inquest, a record of the testimony of witnesses and the written verdict of the jury.

      (5) Within a reasonable time after the verdict is returned, the record of inquest shall be filed in the district medical examiner’s office for the county where the inquest was held.

      (6) A copy of the order of inquest and verdict of the jury shall be filed in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

      (7) The record of inquest shall be available for inspection as provided by ORS 146.035 (5). [1973 c.408 §21; 1987 c.142 §3; 2017 c.151 §20]

 

      146.140 [Amended by 1959 c.629 §37; repealed by 1965 c.221 §27]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 1982–1982 · leading case: Ducosin v. Mott, 642 P.2d 1168 (Or. 1982).
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Ducosin v. Mott, 642 P.2d 1168 (Or. 1982). “The public importance of disclosing that a death was caused by criminal means is at least as high on the scale of importance to society as the disclosure of unethical practice by a lawyer or the disclosure of the misdeeds of an applicant for a license as a medical director.”
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