Access to Coroner’s Files
Q: I sent the following request to the LA County Coroner’s office, asking for information. Their refusal to cooperate is reproduced after my original letter. Am I entitled to any of the information I requested?
A: It may be that you are entitled to certain records related to the issues you raised with the coroner’s office under California’s Public Records Act. This Act, Govt. Code Section 6260, et seq., provides that “[p]ublic records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state or local agency and every person has a right to inspect any public record, [except as otherwise provided in the Act].” Govt. Code Section 6253(a). The Act also provides that copies of public records are available upon request (upon payment of the costs of duplication). Id. at Section 6253(b).
You might consider re-submitting your request to the coroner’s office as a request for public records, casting it in terms of records you would like copied rather than information you are seeking. Although it is possible that records at issue might be exempt from disclosure under the PRA, the coroner’s office should explain what exemption it relies on if it refuses to disclose the records you request. The coroner’s office may also claim that it is a covered entity under the federal HIPAA law regarding privacy interests as applied to health information. If the coroner’s office makes this claim, we can pass along some information to you that might be useful in countering.
General information about the PRA is available here, and a sample PRA letter is available at http://www.cfac.org/templates/cpraletter.html.