Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-945

A. When properly authorized, an autopsy shall be performed by

the Chief Medical Examiner or such person as may be designated by

him or her for such purpose. The Chief Medical Examiner or a person

designated by him or her may authorize arterial embalming of the

body prior to the autopsy when such embalming would in his or her

opinion not interfere with the autopsy. The extent of the autopsy

shall be made as is deemed necessary by the person performing the

autopsy.

B. A full and complete report of the facts developed by the

autopsy together with the findings of the person making it shall be

prepared and filed in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

without unnecessary delay. Copies of such reports and findings

shall be furnished to district attorneys and law enforcement

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officers making a criminal investigation in connection with the

death.

C. Upon receiving a written, signed and dated records request,

a copy of the full and complete report of the facts developed by the

autopsy, together with the findings of the person making the report,

shall be released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to the

public in the most expedient manner available or as requested by the

records requester and, under the following conditions, shall be

furnished to:

1. District attorneys and any law enforcement agency with

authority to make a criminal investigation in connection with the

death; provided, such copies shall not be shared with any other

entity unless otherwise provided by law;

2. The spouse of the deceased or any person related within two

(2) degrees of consanguinity to the deceased, unless the district

attorney or law enforcement agency making a criminal investigation

objects to the release of documents to any family member. District

attorneys and law enforcement agencies shall be prohibited from

objecting to the release of the full and complete autopsy report to

the family if the decedent was in state custody, in custody of law

enforcement or is deceased due to lethal action of a law enforcement

officer; and

3. Any insurance company conducting an insurer's investigation

of any insurance claim arising from the death of the individual upon

whom the autopsy was performed.

D. The full and complete report of the facts developed by the

autopsy, together with the findings of the person making the report,

shall be withheld from public inspection and copying for ten (10)

business days following the date the report is generated by the

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, except as provided for in

subsection C of this section.

E. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall produce a

summary report of investigation by the medical examiner at the same

time the full and complete report of the facts developed by the

autopsy, together with the findings of the person making the report,

is released to the parties listed in subsection C of this section.

The summary report of investigation shall be made available for

public inspection and copying without delay. Any person may obtain

a copy of the summary report of investigation in the most expedient

manner available or as requested by the records requester.

F. The summary report of investigation shall include, but not

be limited to, the following information, if known:

1. Decedent name, age, birth date, race, sex, home address,

examiner notified by name and title and including date and time,

location where decedent was injured or became ill, including name of

facility, address, city, county, type of premises, date and time;

location of death including name of facility, city, county, type of

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premises, date and time, and location body was viewed by medical

examiner including address, city, county, type of premises and date

and time;

2. If the death was a motor vehicle accident, whether the
ity, address, city, county, type of premises, date and time;

location of death including name of facility, city, county, type of

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premises, date and time, and location body was viewed by medical

examiner including address, city, county, type of premises and date

and time;

2. If the death was a motor vehicle accident, whether the

decedent was the driver, passenger or pedestrian, and the type of

vehicle involved in the accident;

3. A description of the body, including but not limited to the

external physical examination, rigor, livor, external observations

including hair, eye color, body length and weight, and other

external observations, as well as the presence and location of

blood; and

4. The probable cause of death, other significant conditions

contributing to the death but not resulting in the underlying cause

given, manner of death, case disposition, case number, and name and

contact information of the medical examiner performing the autopsy,

including a signature and certification statement that the facts

contained in the report are true and correct to the best of their

knowledge and the date the report was signed and generated.

G. At the conclusion of the ten (10) business-day-period, the

full and complete report shall be made available as a public record

except when a district attorney or law enforcement agency with

authority to make a criminal investigation in connection with the

death declares that the full and complete report contains

information that would materially compromise an ongoing criminal

investigation. Such declaration shall be in writing to the Office

of the Medical Examiner and be an open record available from the

Office of Medical Examiner.

1. Upon such declaration, the district attorney or law

enforcement agency shall request from the appropriate district court

a hearing for an extension of time during which the full and

complete autopsy report, not including information in the summary

report, may be withheld.

2. When a request for an extension of time has been filed with

the court, the full and complete autopsy report in question may be

withheld until the court has issued a ruling on the requested

extension of time to release the autopsy report. Such requests for

an extension of time during which the autopsy may be withheld shall

be made on the grounds that release of the full and complete autopsy

report will materially compromise an ongoing criminal investigation.

3. Courts considering such requests shall conduct a hearing and

consider whether the interests of the public outweigh the interests

asserted by the district attorney or law enforcement agency.

4. If an extension of time is granted by the court, the initial

extension shall be ordered by the court for a period of six (6)

months. Subsequent extensions shall only be ordered after a hearing

by the court for an additional one year and cumulative time

extensions shall not exceed more than four (4) years and six (6)

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months; provided, under no circumstance shall an extension of time

be granted by the court if the deceased person was in state custody,

in custody of law enforcement or was deceased due to lethal action

of a law enforcement officer.

5. In the event that six (6) months have expired from the date

of the initial release of the autopsy report without any person

being criminally charged in the case in question and release of the

autopsy or portions of the autopsy have been denied on the grounds

of materially compromising a criminal investigation, an appeal of

such denial may be made to the appropriate district court. Courts

considering appeals for temporarily withholding an autopsy report

shall conduct a hearing and consider whether the interests of the

public outweigh the interests asserted by the district attorney or
topsy or portions of the autopsy have been denied on the grounds

of materially compromising a criminal investigation, an appeal of

such denial may be made to the appropriate district court. Courts

considering appeals for temporarily withholding an autopsy report

shall conduct a hearing and consider whether the interests of the

public outweigh the interests asserted by the district attorney or

law enforcement agency. In response to such appeals, the district

court shall order that the autopsy report be made available for

public inspection and copying with no redaction, or shall order an

extension of time during which the autopsy report may be withheld

under the provisions of this section.

6. Any court order obtained pursuant to this subsection shall

be served upon the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner by the party

requesting or granted the extension by the court.

H. An order granting an extension of time shall be applicable

to the autopsy report for the duration of the extension; provided,

each subsequent time extension shall only be ordered by the district

court for an additional twelve-month period of time or less and

cumulative time extensions shall not exceed four (4) years and six

(6) months; provided, charges being filed against a person in the

case in question or an autopsy report being entered into evidence as

part of a criminal prosecution nullifies any granted extension of

time.

I. The opportunities to withhold an autopsy report or portions

of an autopsy report provided in this section shall expire in

totality four (4) years and six (6) months after the date the

autopsy report was generated, at which time the autopsy report

previously withheld on the grounds provided for in this section

shall be made available for public inspection and copying.

J. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a district attorney

or law enforcement agency with authority to make a criminal

investigation in connection with the death from immediately

releasing portions of information contained in the full and complete

autopsy report for the purposes of assisting with the criminal

investigation or apprehension of any person involved in a criminal

act that resulted in the death of another person.

K. After ten (10) business days from the release of the full

and complete report, nothing in this section shall prohibit the

spouse of the deceased or any person related within two (2) degrees

of consanguinity to the deceased who has received a copy of the full

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and complete autopsy report from the Office of the Chief Medical

Examiner from authorizing the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's

office to release the full and complete autopsy report to any other

person subject to approval by the court.

L. When an autopsy of the body is conducted of a deceased human

who has epilepsy or a history of seizures, the report shall include

an investigation and determination as to whether the deceased

suffered a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). In the

event the deceased did suffer a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy,

such information shall be noted on the death certificate and be

reported to the North American SUDEP Registry (NASR).