The Right to Due Process in Challenging a Determination of Cause and Manner of Death: Giving the Family the Ability to Contest a Cause and Manner Decision by a Medical Examiner in Maryland

Abstract

In 1989, the legislature in Maryland passed a statutory amendment that allowed a person in interest to request that the Chief Medical Examiner review the death investigation of an individual and request that the cause of death or the manner of death be amended. The statute further allowed the individual the opportunity to have a hearing in front of an administrative law judge, should the Chief Medical Examiner deny the request. This process requires the person in interest to make the initial request to the Chief Medical Examiner before having the opportunity to move this into the court system.