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2016 SESSION
16104937DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 32.1-286 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 32.1-286. Exhumations.
A. In any case of death described in subsection A of §
32.1-283, where the body is buried without investigation by the Chief Medical
Examiner, an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, or a medical examiner appointed
pursuant to § 32.1-282 into the cause and manner of death or where sufficient
cause develops for further investigation after a body is buried, the Chief
Medical Examiner shall authorize such investigation and shall send a copy of
the report, which shall include the name and contact information of the next
of kin, as defined in § 54.1-2800, of the dead person, if known, to
the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth who shall communicate such report
to a judge of the appropriate circuit court. In cases in which the name and
contact information of the next of kin is not known at the time the report is
prepared, the Chief Medical Examiner shall so indicate on the report. Upon
receipt of such report, the clerk of the court shall send notice of the
investigation and the request for exhumation to the next of kin of the dead
person when the name and contact information of the next of kin is included in
the report. SuchThe judge may order that the body be exhumed
and an autopsy performed thereon by the Chief Medical Examiner, an Assistant
Chief Medical Examiner, or a pathologist with whom the Commissioner has entered
into an agreement pursuant to § 32.1-281. The pertinent facts disclosed by
the an autopsy conducted pursuant to an order entered in
accordance with this subsection shall be communicated to the judge who
ordered it the autopsy.
B. Upon petition of the attorney for the Commonwealth to whom a report is submitted in accordance with subsection A and a finding that good cause exists, a judge for the appropriate circuit court may, for a period of time not to exceed ninety days, order that (i) notification of the next of kin of the dead person be withheld, (ii) the report and order for exhumation be sealed by the clerk of the circuit court, and (iii) any parties involved in the investigation or exhumation not disclose to the next of kin of the dead person or any other person that the court may deem appropriate that the investigation or exhumation has occurred. Upon the petition of the attorney for the Commonwealth and a finding that good cause exists, the court may extend any such time period for additional periods not to exceed ninety days for each extension granted.
B. C. In any case of death in which a private
person has an interest, such person may petition the judge of the circuit court
exercising jurisdiction over the place of interment and, uponto have
the body exhumed. Such petition shall include the name and contact information
of the next of kin of the dead person or, in cases in which the name and
contact information is not known, an affirmation that good faith efforts to
determine the name and contact information have been made. Upon receipt of the
petition, the clerk of the court shall send notice of the petition to the next
of kin of the dead person when the name and contact information of the next of
kin is included in the petition. Upon proper showing of sufficient cause,
such judge may order the body exhumed. Such petition or exhumation or both
shall not require the participation of the Chief Medical Examiner or any
Assistant Chief Medical Examiner. Costs shall be paid by the party requesting
the exhumation.
C. D. Upon the petition of aA
party attempting to prove, in accordance with the provisions of §§ 64.2-102 and
64.2-103, that he is the issue of a dead person, a court may order the
exhumation of the body of any dead person for the conduct of scientifically
reliable genetic tests, including DNA tests, to prove a biological relationship
may petition the judge of the circuit court exercising jurisdiction over the
place of internment to have the body exhumed. The petition shall be
accompanied by the petitioner's sworn statement that sets forth facts
establishing a reasonable possibility of a biological relationship between the
petitioner and his alleged ancestors, and shall include the name and contact
information of the next of kin of the dead person or, in cases in which the
name and contact information is not known, an affirmation that good faith
efforts to determine the name and contact information have been made. Upon
receipt of the petition, the clerk of the court shall send notice of the
petition to the next of kin of the dead person when the name and contact
information of the next of kin is included in the petition. The court may order
the exhumation of the dead person for the conduct of scientifically reliable
genetic tests, including DNA tests, to prove a biological relationship. The
costs of exhumation, testing, and reinterment shall be paid by the petitioner
unless, for good cause shown, the court orders such costs paid from the estate
in which the petitioner is claiming an interest. This provision is intended to
provide a procedural mechanism for obtaining posthumous samples for reliable
genetic testing and shall not require substantive proof of parentage to obtain
the exhumation order.