Module 1: The Role of the County Coroner

Where the Office Comes From

Idaho's Constitution names the coroner. Article XVIII, section 6 tells the Legislature to provide for "the election of a sheriff, a county assessor, a county coroner and a county treasurer, who is ex-officio public administrator, every four years in each of the several counties of the state."¹ The statute that lists county officers repeats it.² So the coroner is not a division of the sheriff's office or a hire of the commissioners. Voters pick one.

The same section says the sheriff, assessor, treasurer and clerk "shall be empowered by the county commissioners to appoint such deputies and clerical assistants" as their offices need. The coroner is missing from that sentence. Coroner deputies come from a statute, § 31-3107, and the commissioners fix their pay.³

Section 12 lets the Legislature offer optional forms of county government, and an adopted form supersedes section 6.⁴ Each optional-form chapter then gives the coroner four paths: stay elected for four years, be elected for a shorter term, be appointed under the board or a manager, or have the office eliminated and the duties handed to someone else.⁵ Check the county's form of government with the clerk. This module assumes the traditional form.

Who can run, and for how long

Idaho Code § 34-622 sets the list. A coroner is elected at the general election in 1986 "and every four (4) years thereafter," which puts the next election in November 2026. A candidate must be 21 at the time of election, a United States citizen, and a county resident for one year before the election. The declaration of candidacy goes to the county clerk with a $40 filing fee.⁶ Elected county officers take the oath on the second Monday of January after the general election, so the 2026 winners are sworn on January 11, 2027.⁷

No medical degree, license or death-investigator credential is required. The statute adds duties after the win: a coroner's school within one year of taking office, and 24 hours of continuing education every two calendar years, on courses sponsored or provided by the Idaho State Association of County Coroners and approved by a nationally recognized certifying body.⁸ Section 31-2810 gives the association the job of monitoring the hours and states no consequence for missing them. That is the Idaho model: an elected lay official who certifies cause and manner and may bring in a pathologist.

Bond, oath and vacancy

Coroners post a $1,000 official bond. Sheriffs post $10,000 and assessors $5,000.⁹ A blanket bond or crime policy may stand in, and commissioners must review the sufficiency of county officers' bonds at least twice a year.¹⁰ Ask to see the bond and the last review.

On a vacancy, § 59-906 gives the central committee of the departing coroner's party 15 days to send three names to the commissioners, who then have 15 days to pick one. The appointee must meet the qualifications for election and serves until the next general election.¹¹ In the gap, § 31-2805 lets "any district judge or whomever he assigns" discharge the coroner's duties.¹²

Chapter 28 and the 2025 Rewrite

Title 31, chapter 28 is short and mostly dates from the 1800s. In 2025 the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1101, signed March 18 as session law chapter 96 and effective July 1, 2025. It added a statement of the coroner's job and definitions, repealed the old deputy section, rewrote the list of deaths the coroner investigates, and defined forensic autopsy.¹³ The sponsors' statement of purpose said the bill "outlines common duties of coroners, and provides definitions and standards to increase consistency in practice and improve public safety," with no fiscal impact on local governments.¹⁴ A county budget officer can test that claim.

"The county coroner, who shall be a medicolegal death investigator, is charged with the responsibility of determining or certifying the cause and manner of death for those deaths properly the responsibility of the coroner."

Idaho Code § 31-2801A (added 2025)

When a death is reported, the coroner "shall have jurisdiction over the human remains" and must "gather and review background information, including but not limited to medical information."¹⁵ The new definitions section calls a medicolegal death investigator "a person who conducts a medicolegal death investigation," which is circular, and lists the manner-of-death categories as accident, homicide, natural, suicide and undetermined. The list follows the word "including," so the Legislature did not say it is closed.¹⁶

Older sections deal with property that comes with the dead. If no one takes charge of a body within 14 days, the coroner "shall cause the body to be decently interred or cremated," at county cost if the estate cannot pay.¹⁷ Money or property found on a body goes to the county treasurer or the deceased's legal representatives within 30 days after an inquest.¹⁸ Before commissioners audit the coroner's accounts, they must require a sworn statement of any decedent's property the coroner held.¹⁹

The chapter says nothing about the price of an autopsy, who pays a pathologist, what a coroner's report must contain, or who may see it. Those answers sit in Title 19, chapter 43, the vital statistics act, the public records act and each county's budget.

Which Deaths Come to the Coroner

The trigger is in Title 19, not Title 31. Idaho Code § 19-4301(1) says that when a coroner "is informed that a person has died," the coroner "shall investigate that death" if it falls in one of ten groups: a suspected homicide, a suicide, or a death under suspicious or unknown circumstances; an apparent accident or injury death; a suspected unlawful drug or toxic-agent death; a death while incarcerated in any jail or correctional facility or while a ward of the state; a work-related death by disease, injury or toxic agent; an unattended death outside a physician's or hospice care; remains that are skeletal or charred and cannot be identified; an emergency-room death within 24 hours of arrival without regaining responsiveness, with exceptions for recent physician attendance; a death that may threaten public health; and the death of a child where there is reasonable articulable suspicion it occurred without a known medical disease to account for it.²⁰ Senate Bill 1101 rewrote this list in 2025.²¹

For an unattended death that no physician can certify, § 19-4301(2) splits the work between two offices that answer to different voters:

"The criminal investigation shall be the responsibility of the appropriate law enforcement agency. The medicolegal death investigation shall be the responsibility of the coroner."

Idaho Code § 19-4301(2)

Each side owes the other a written report.²² Neither officer supervises the other.

The duty to notify falls on whoever is there

Section 19-4301A puts the duty on "the person who finds or has custody of the body." That person must promptly notify the coroner, who then tells law enforcement, or notify law enforcement, which then tells the coroner. Until an officer arrives the person must take reasonable precautions to preserve the body and body fluids, and nobody may disturb the scene.²³ Failing to notify is a misdemeanor, with up to a year in the county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both. Failing to notify or delaying notice "with the intent to prevent discovery of the manner of death" is a felony, with up to ten years in prison, a fine up to $50,000, or both.²⁴

In 2018 the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a felony count under that section, ruling that prosecuting that defendant on those facts would violate her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The court said its holding "does not constitute a broad ruling on the general constitutionality of section 19-4301A" and is "driven by the specific facts of this case."²⁵ The statute stands, with a narrow limit.

Custody of the Body, Autopsy and Release

Section 19-4301B gives two officers a power and no one a duty:

"The coroner or the prosecuting attorney may order a forensic autopsy performed if it is deemed necessary to determine accurately and scientifically the cause of death."

Idaho Code § 19-4301B(1)

The coroner "may" also summon a forensic pathologist to inspect the body and give a professional opinion on cause of death. Since 2025 the statute defines a forensic pathologist as a board-certified physician in the branch of pathology that deals with legal, public health or public safety questions. For a decedent under 18, the coroner must give a parent or guardian written notice that an autopsy has been ordered, with a general description of the procedure and of the expected physical appearance of the body afterward, if the parent or guardian can reasonably be found.²⁶

The gap between the statute and the practice

The autopsy section lists no category of death in which an autopsy is required. It says nothing about who pays, how far a county must travel to find a pathologist, or whether a coroner may rely on an external examination. The Legislature defined the professional and set the authority. The county supplies the money and the practice. A CDC public health law summary last updated in May 2024 describes Idaho as county-based with no state medical examiner.²⁷

A coroner who believes a death needs an autopsy can order one. But § 31-1606 limits every county official to the appropriation, and § 31-1607 makes an official who spends past it personally liable.²⁸ So the statute gives the power, and the appropriation decides how often it gets used. Two counties of similar size may show very different autopsy rates. Report that with care, since a lower rate can reflect a thoughtful policy as easily as a thin budget.

Release, cremation and disposition

If next of kin asks, the coroner must release a body held for investigation or autopsy for funeral preparation "not later than 24 hours after death or discovery of the body, whichever is later." A district judge may extend that period ex parte on the prosecuting attorney's petition and affidavit showing reasonable cause.²⁹ The funeral director's report to the registrar works as a burial permit but does not authorize cremation, removal from the state, or disposal where an inquiry is required under Title 19, chapter 43, and the coroner must give additional authorization for cremation.³⁰ For indigent or unclaimed decedents, § 31-3412 makes burial or cremation the commissioners' duty at the rate each board sets, and lets a coroner authorize cremation ten days after death before an application is approved.³¹

Under the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, § 39-3417(3) draws a bright line on money: a coroner "shall not authorize the removal of a part from a body within the coroner's custody if the coroner, or any deputy or agent of the coroner, derives or may derive any direct or indirect financial benefit relative to the removal, donation or use of the part."³²

Death Certificates, Cause and Manner, and Inquests

A coroner's most common legal product is a signature on a death certificate. The vital statistics act, Title 39, chapter 2, sets the clock. A certificate is filed with the local registrar within five days of death. The attending clinician certifies cause of death within 72 hours, and in hardship cases board rules may allow filing first, but the medical certification must reach the vital statistics unit within 15 days of the filing, whether it comes from that clinician or from the coroner.³³

The person in charge of interment or removal "shall refer" a case to the coroner, who must "make an immediate investigation, supply the necessary medical data, and certify to the cause of death," when no clinician attended the last illness, when the circumstances suggest other than natural causes, or when the attending clinician is unavailable or cannot sign for a natural death.³⁴ The certificate section asks for "cause of death." The 2025 coroner statute adds "cause and manner."³⁵ Section 19-4301B defines cause of death as "a medical opinion of the disease or injury that resulted in a person's death," and § 31-2811 lists the manner categories. Neither chapter 28, chapter 43 nor section 39-260 sets a legal standard for choosing among them.³⁶ A coroner who fails to sign within 15 days of death can be fined by the state registrar up to $250, plus up to $50 a day after notice.³⁷

Certificates in the registrar's custody are open to inspection only as the vital statistics act allows. A copy goes to an applicant who shows "direct and tangible interest," and the record opens to the public after 50 years.³⁸ The coroner's own file is a different record, covered under Reporting Angles below.

The inquest

Idaho still has the coroner's inquest, and the 2025 text keeps it as a power. Under § 19-4301(3) the coroner "may conduct an inquest" if the investigation gives reasonable grounds to believe the death fell in an investigated category, and then "shall summon six (6) persons qualified by law to serve as jurors."³⁹ The coroner may subpoena witnesses, and the jury certifies a written inquisition.⁴⁰ Separately, when cause and manner are established, § 19-4301D requires the coroner to "make and file a written report of the material facts" in the office of the clerk of the district court, and to give the prosecuting attorney copies of all records on any death where further investigation may be advisable.⁴¹ That filing gives a reporter a place to look and a way to count.

Independence from the Sheriff and the Stand-In Rules

The office is separate because the Constitution says so, and the statutes keep it that way. The coroner and the sheriff are elected on the same cycle by the same voters, and neither hires, fires or budgets the other. Both take their budgets to the same commissioners, who fix every county officer's salary through the budget process.⁴² The old § 31-2809, which said a coroner "may appoint a deputy or deputies as he deems necessary," was repealed by Senate Bill 1101. The Legislature's chapter index no longer lists it, though a page for the old text still loads without a repeal note. The bill and the index control.⁴³

When the sheriff steps aside

Section 31-2806 lets the coroner "act as the substitute for the county sheriff when the sheriff declares he is disqualified from acting due to a conflict of interest in a proceeding or matter." The same sentence says that on the sheriff's death, absence or resignation, "the senior deputy sheriff ... shall temporarily fill the vacancy." So the coroner stands in for a conflict, and the senior deputy stands in for a vacancy. A vacancy in the sheriff's office does not make the coroner sheriff.⁴⁴

While acting as sheriff, the coroner "possesses the powers, and may perform all the duties, of sheriff, and is liable on his official bond, in like manner as a sheriff would be." The coroner's bond is $1,000 and the sheriff's is $10,000, and the statute does not say whether the coroner must raise the bond to act as sheriff.⁴⁵ A county attorney should settle that before a sheriff declares a conflict. Only the sheriff's own declaration triggers the section, so a reporter can ask for the declaration, the matter and the fee billed. Separately, under § 31-2002 the Attorney General may investigate an allegation that a county elected officer violated state criminal law in an official capacity.⁴⁶

For the office that holds the other half of a death investigation, see the module on the county sheriff, and for the board that funds both, the module on commissioner authority.

When the Coroner Is Also a Funeral Director

In a small county the same person can be both the elected coroner and the local funeral director. Idaho Code addresses that directly in § 31-2808, amended in 1994, 2002, 2022, and twice in 2025.⁴⁷

"No coroner or person acting as coroner who is a licensed funeral director or a licensed mortician, owner, or proprietor of any establishment engaged in making final disposition of human remains ... shall, except for ambulance services, perform any of the services of a funeral director or mortician or furnish any materials connected with or incidental to the final disposition of the remains of any person whose death is required by law to be investigated by such coroner ...."

Idaho Code § 31-2808

A violation is a misdemeanor. The ban reaches a case only when the death "is required by law to be investigated" by that coroner, so on its face a funeral-director coroner may still serve families whose loved ones died of natural causes under a physician's care.

Then comes an exception that removes the ban across part of the state: it "shall not be applicable in counties wherein there is only one (1) licensed funeral establishment or in counties with a population of fewer than twenty thousand (20,000) people according to the most recent federal census." In those counties a coroner who owns the only funeral home may investigate a death and then handle the funeral, and § 31-2808 does not stop it. Check your county's latest census count against the 20,000 line.⁴⁸ Senate Bill 1121, signed March 13, 2025, lifted the restriction for employees of mortuary establishments, leaving owners, funeral directors, morticians and proprietors restricted.⁴⁹

What the statute does not say

Section 31-2808 says nothing about which funeral home gets the first call when next of kin has not chosen one, whether the coroner's business may hold the county's contract for body removal, or whether the commissioners must be told about the ownership. For those gaps the general ethics provisions are the available tool. Title 74, chapter 4 calls public office "a public trust" and defines a conflict of interest as an official action, decision or recommendation whose effect would be "to the private pecuniary benefit of the person ... or a business with which the person ... is associated," with exceptions for benefits shared by a whole industry or occupation to the same degree. An elected county official with a potential conflict must disclose it before acting, and faces a civil penalty up to $500 for an intentional failure to disclose.⁵⁰ Chapter 5 forbids county officers to be "interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity," allows only narrow "remote interest" exceptions, makes a violating contract voidable, and makes a violation a misdemeanor.⁵¹

Whether those provisions reach a given coroner depends on the act. If the coroner contracts with the county through his own business for removal or storage, § 74-501 is in play. If the coroner only releases the body to whichever home the family names, no county contract exists. Whether the industry-wide exception in the conflict definition covers a coroner who steers first calls is unsettled, and no Idaho appellate decision located for this module addresses it.

Budgets, Pay and the Pathologist Contract

The coroner's powers come from the Legislature. The coroner's capacity comes from the commissioners. Section 31-3106 makes it the board's duty to fix the annual salaries of county officers "through the county budget process." Necessary official expenses are "a legal charge against the county," and fees that come into the coroner's hands go to the county treasury and are reported on a sworn quarterly statement.⁵² Deputies receive "such remuneration as may be fixed by said board."⁵³

The county auditor is the budget officer. By the first Monday in May the auditor notifies each county official in writing to file an itemized estimate by the third Monday in May. An official who fails to file pays $10 to $50 from the next salary warrant, and the budget officer writes the estimate for the office.⁵⁴ The adopted budget "shall constitute the appropriations," and each official is "limited in making expenditures or the incurring of liabilities" to those amounts.⁵⁵ A coroner who files late or files a copy of last year's request has handed the auditor the right to write the number.

The pathologist contract

No statute tells a county how to buy forensic pathology. A county may contract with a pathologist or hospital group, pay per case or by retainer, send bodies out of county, or rely on external examinations. Section 19-4301B says nothing about price, travel, turnaround, toxicology or who owns the report. Those terms live in a contract, which is why the contract is worth requesting. A per-case fee, a flat annual fee and a distant lab each shape how often autopsies get ordered and how long families wait. None is wrong in itself. Each tells you something.

One piece of coroner money has its own statute. Every certified copy of a death certificate carries a $1 charge, deposited into a fund the Legislature created for the Idaho State Association of County Coroners and used for training newly elected coroners and for continuing education of coroners and their deputies.⁵⁶ The 2025 sponsors told the Legislature the training in S.B. 1101 was "already a part of the Idaho State Association of County Coroner's own funds collected through fees on death certificates."⁵⁷ The statement says nothing about a coroner's travel or time away from other work, which a budget request can cover.

Recall and Other Checks on the Office

Coroners are among the county officers Idaho voters can recall. Section 34-1701(2)(a) lists "the members of the board of county commissioners, sheriff, treasurer, assessor, prosecuting attorney, clerk of the district court, and coroner."⁵⁸ The petition goes to the county clerk and needs registered electors of the county equal to 20 percent of the number registered to vote at the last general election held in the county for county officers at which the coroner was elected.⁵⁹ It must state the reasons in no more than 200 words.⁶⁰ Sponsors first deliver a prospective petition signed by at least 20 electors. Once the clerk approves the form, they have 75 days to gather the signatures, and a petition that falls short "shall be declared null and void ab initio in its entirety."⁶¹ No petition may circulate until the coroner "has actually held office under the current term for at least ninety (90) days," and after one special recall election no further petition may be filed in the same term unless the petitioners first pay the election's expenses.⁶²

Recall is the heavy tool. Lighter ones are already in the statutes: commissioners audit the coroner's accounts and review the bond, the prosecuting attorney receives the coroner's reports and may order an autopsy, the Attorney General may investigate allegations of criminal conduct, and the state registrar can fine a coroner who sits on a certificate. Twenty percent of registered electors and a 75-day window are demanding thresholds, and a petition started over one sad case before the facts are in harms the grieving as well as the officer. The ordinary route comes first: ask for the records, take the finding to the commissioners, and vote.

Reporting Angles

How to Ask

Idaho starts from a presumption: "all public records in Idaho are open at all reasonable times for inspection except as otherwise expressly provided by statute" (§ 74-102(1)). Put the request in writing, label it a public records request, describe the records and a date range, and include the residency declaration (§§ 74-102(4), 74-103(1)).⁶³ A resident gets a grant or denial in three working days, or written notice and delivery within ten. A denial must be written, cite its statutory authority, say whether an attorney reviewed the request, and explain the right to appeal. Silence counts as denial (§ 74-103(2) to (5)). The remedy is a district court petition within 180 days of the denial notice (§ 74-115).⁶⁴

What Is Open, What Is Exempt, What Is Unsettled

Open by statute. The name, age, sex and hometown of a deceased person, after next of kin has been notified, are not an unwarranted invasion of privacy and "shall be disclosed unless otherwise exempt" (§ 74-101(17)(b)).⁶⁵

Exempt by statute. Photographs or images of a decedent taken in a coroner or law enforcement death investigation are exempt, "regardless of whether such investigation is active or not." The next of kin, meaning the closest living relative in the order of spouse, adult children, parents, siblings and grandparents, may get them on request once the coroner and law enforcement investigations and the criminal case, including appeals and related civil proceedings, are no longer active. The Legislature added that exemption in 2026 (Senate Bill 1250, session law chapter 148, effective July 1, 2026). The current code prints the new paragraph's number in brackets, so cite the exemption by its words and check the numbering.⁶⁶ Vital statistics records are exempt (§ 74-106(4)(e)), and the vital statistics act limits certified copies to people with a direct and tangible interest and opens the records after 50 years (§ 39-270).⁶⁷ Medical records that specifically identify an individual patient are also exempt (§ 74-106(13)).

Unsettled. The autopsy report, the coroner's investigative narrative, toxicology and scene notes. No section reviewed for this module names an autopsy report. Section 74-105(1) exempts investigatory records of a "law enforcement agency" to the extent that producing them would, for example, interfere with enforcement proceedings or invade personal privacy (§ 74-124). Section 74-101(7) defines that agency broadly, as one with "authority to investigate, enforce, prosecute or punish violations of state or federal criminal statutes," but § 74-124 lists the attorney general, the state controller, the state police, prosecutors, sheriffs and municipal police, and not a coroner.⁶⁸ In 2025 Senate Bill 1135 would have exempted certain coroner records and given next of kin access to coroner reports. It was referred to committee on February 27, 2025, and the Legislature's page shows no later action. Its proponents' statement of purpose said it would exempt sensitive information "similar to exemptions for law enforcement."⁶⁹ Expect a custodian to deny or partly deny a request for an autopsy report, and expect the written denial to name its statutory authority. Where the statute is silent, the presumption in § 74-102(1) still runs toward openness. No Idaho appellate decision on autopsy-report disclosure was located for this module.

Records to Request

• Counts for five calendar years of deaths reported, deaths investigated, forensic autopsies ordered, inquests held and certifications signed, with manner of death by the categories in § 31-2811. Ask for totals, not case files.
• Each contract with a forensic pathologist, hospital or lab, the fee schedule, and payments by fiscal year, plus the coroner's budget estimate (§ 31-1602) and any emergency resolution (§ 31-1608).
• The list of reports filed with the clerk of the district court under § 19-4301D, by date, without contents.
• For jail or prison deaths (§ 19-4301(1)(d)), the time of death, time of notice to the coroner, who gave it, arrival time and release time, in aggregate or redacted.
• The coroner's bond or crime policy, the last two sufficiency reviews, deputy appointments and pay (§§ 31-2015, 59-806, 31-3107), the sworn statement of decedents' property (§ 31-2804), and payments for unclaimed or indigent burial or cremation (§§ 31-2802, 31-3412).
• Training certificates (§§ 34-622(5), 31-2810). These may be treated as personnel records under § 74-106(1), so ask the state association for a compliance statement too.
• If the coroner is a funeral director: county payments to the coroner's business, any recorded conflict disclosure (§ 74-404), and any written first-call policy.

Numbers Worth Comparing

Deaths reported against investigated against autopsied, county against a county of similar size. Share of deaths by manner, year over year. Days to signed certification against the 15-day clock in § 39-260. Cost per autopsy and the month the budget line ran out. State vital statistics counts against the coroner's own, since the two should reconcile.

Handling Overdose and Suicide Figures

Report aggregates and trends. Leave out methods, locations, and details of any single death. In a small county a single-year count of one or two can point to a family, so use multi-year totals or ranges. Pair suicide counts with local crisis and support resources. Ask the coroner about process and capacity: how quickly toxicology comes back and how many cases stay undetermined.

Questions for the Officeholder

• When did you last attend the coroner's school or continuing education, and how many hours are on record?
• Who performs your autopsies, what does the county pay, what triggers one, and what happens when the line item runs out?
• For a jail death, who notifies you, how fast, and how do you protect your independence from the sheriff who runs the facility?
• Do you own or work for a funeral home? If so, what is your first-call practice, and does the county pay your business anything?
• How many deaths did you rule undetermined last year, and have you ever acted as sheriff under § 31-2806?

Dates to watch: the third-Monday-in-May estimate deadline (§ 31-1602), the commissioners' budget hearing, any vote on a pathologist or funeral-service contract, and the January 11, 2027 oath of the coroner elected in November 2026.

Sources & Further Reading

Primary Sources

• Idaho Constitution, art. XVIII, § 6 (County officers) and § 12 (Optional forms of county government)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 28 (Coroner), §§ 31-2801 to 31-2811
• Idaho Code Title 19, chapter 43 (Coroner's Inquests), §§ 19-4301 to 19-4310
• Idaho Code § 34-622 (Election of county coroners; qualifications)
• Idaho Code Title 39, chapter 2 (Vital Statistics), including §§ 39-252, 39-260, 39-268, 39-270, 39-273
• Idaho Code Title 39, chapter 34 (Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act), §§ 39-3417, 39-3423
• Idaho Code Title 74, chapter 1 (Public Records Act), §§ 74-101 to 74-106, 74-115 to 74-117, 74-124
• Idaho Code Title 74, chapter 4 (Ethics in Government) and chapter 5 (Prohibitions Against Contracts with Officers)
• Idaho Code Title 34, chapter 17 (Recall Elections)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 16 (County Budget Law) and chapter 31 (Salaries of Officers)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 20 (County Officers in General), §§ 31-2001, 31-2002, 31-2006, 31-2015
• Idaho Code Title 59, chapter 9 (Resignations and Vacancies), chapter 4 (Oath of Office) and chapter 8 (Bonds)
• Senate Bill 1101 (2025), coroners, session law chapter 96; Senate Bill 1121 (2025), chapter 90; Senate Bill 1135 (2025), no action after committee referral; Senate Bill 1250 (2026), decedent images, chapter 148
• State v. Akins, Idaho Supreme Court Docket No. 45347, 423 P.3d 1026 (Aug. 6, 2018), opinion (PDF)

Agency Guidance

• CDC Public Health Law Program, Idaho Coroner/Medical Examiner Laws (summary last updated May 2024; it predates the 2025 changes and cites the repealed § 31-2809)
• Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (state registrar of vital statistics)
• Idaho Association of Counties
• Idaho Attorney General

Related Training Modules

• The Role of the County Sheriff
• County Commissioner Authority & Powers
• The Role of the County Treasurer and Tax Collector (the treasurer is ex officio public administrator)
• The Role of the Clerk, Auditor & Recorder (the clerk of the district court holds coroner reports and the budget officer is the auditor)

Issues and Advocacy Courses

• Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds
• Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth
• Idaho Property Taxes in Depth
• Records to Request and How to Judge a Surveillance Program Fairly

Footnotes

1. Idaho Constitution, art. XVIII, § 6 (text). The section calls for the election of commissioners biennially and of the sheriff, assessor, coroner and treasurer every four years, "commencing with the general election in 1986." It also says "No other county offices shall be established."
2. Idaho Code § 31-2001, listing the officers of a county: sheriff, clerk of the district court, assessor, prosecuting attorney, county treasurer, coroner, and three commissioners.
3. The deputy sentence in art. XVIII, § 6 names the sheriff, county assessor, county treasurer, and ex-officio tax collector, auditor and recorder and clerk of the district court. The coroner is not named. Idaho Code § 31-3107 (last amended by 2025 session law ch. 96, § 8) names the coroner among the officers empowered by the board to appoint deputies and clerical assistants "as the business of their offices may require," with pay fixed by the board.
4. Idaho Constitution, art. XVIII, § 12 (text): an adopted optional form "supersede[s] sections 5, 6 and 10 of this article and sections 16 and 18 of article V." Adoption requires a majority of electors voting in the county.
5. Idaho Code §§ 31-5213 (commission-executive), 31-5311 (commission-manager), 31-5408 (three-member board with changes in other offices), 31-5510 (five-member board) and 31-5610 (seven-member board). Each begins "the duties of the county coroner shall be as provided in chapter 28, title 31, Idaho Code" and then offers four options. Which Idaho counties, if any, have adopted an optional form was not checked for this module. The CDC summary in note 27 describes the coroner as "elected or appointed" for the same reason.
6. Idaho Code § 34-622(1) to (4) (text). The section was last amended by 2025 session law ch. 96, § 9, which added subsection (5). The 2026 election year is computed from "the general election, 1986, and every four (4) years thereafter."
7. Idaho Code § 59-404 (oath of county elective officers on "the second Monday of January succeeding each general election," with the commissioners and the chairman of the board administering it) and § 59-405 (oaths filed with the county recorder). January 11, 2027 is derived by calendar count and is not stated in the statute.
8. Idaho Code § 34-622(5) (coroner's school within one year of taking office) and § 31-2810 (24 hours of continuing education on a biennial calendar basis; the association "shall either sponsor or provide courses ... and monitor this requirement"; courses approved by "a nationally recognized certifying body"). Section 31-2810 was amended in 2025 (ch. 96, § 6) to add "for the purpose of each county coroner being certified." The definition of "certified" in § 31-2811(2) is a third-party written assurance of conformity. The statute does not say that certification is a condition of holding office.
9. Idaho Code § 31-2015(3), (6), (9) (sheriffs $10,000, assessors $5,000, coroners $1,000), last amended 2022, ch. 111. Section 31-2016 lets the commissioners fix an amount when none is set by law.
10. Idaho Code §§ 59-802(7) (surety bond defined), 59-804(2) and (4) (blanket bond or crime insurance; approval by the governing body; filing with the clerk), 59-805, 59-806 (review "not less than twice yearly"; summons; new bond within ten days; district court may declare a vacancy), and 31-2010 (liability for penalties attaches to the official bond).
11. Idaho Code § 59-901 (events that create a vacancy, including resignation, death, removal, residence outside the county, and felony conviction), § 59-905, § 59-906(1) and § 59-914. The appointee "shall be a person who possesses the same qualifications at the time of his appointment as those provided by law for election to the office."
12. Idaho Code § 31-2805. The coroner's duties "may be discharged by any district judge or whomever he assigns for the county, with the like authority, and subject to the same obligations and penalties, as the coroner." Section 59-915 fills vacancies in the offices of clerk, auditor and recorder, and treasurer with a senior deputy, and it does not name the coroner.
13. Senate Bill 1101 (2025), bill page: introduced by the Judiciary and Rules Committee, passed the Senate 25-10-0 on February 26 and the House 60-6-4 on March 10, signed March 18, 2025, session law ch. 96, effective July 1, 2025 under an emergency clause. It amended §§ 19-4301, 19-4301B, 31-2808, 31-2810, 31-3107, 34-622 and 39-252, added §§ 31-2801A and 31-2811, and repealed § 31-2809.
14. Statement of Purpose and Fiscal Note, RS32243 / S1101 (PDF). The document states it was prepared by proponents and is not an expression of legislative intent (Joint Rule 18).
15. Idaho Code § 31-2801A (added 2025, ch. 96, § 3). The section also gives the coroner "jurisdiction over the human remains for the purpose of conducting a medicolegal death investigation."
16. Idaho Code § 31-2811(2), (3), (6), (7), (8) (added 2025, ch. 96, § 7).
17. Idaho Code § 31-2802 (14 days; last amended 2012, ch. 208) and § 31-3412 (indigent burial or cremation; amended 2022, ch. 62).
18. Idaho Code § 31-2803 and § 31-2001(5). The treasurer is also public administrator under art. XVIII, § 6 and the module on the county treasurer, county-treasurer-role.html.
19. Idaho Code § 31-2804. The statute makes the statement a condition that comes "before auditing or allowing the accounts of the coroner" and directs that it be filed "with the clerk of the board."
20. Idaho Code § 19-4301(1)(a) to (j) (text), as amended by 2025 session law ch. 96, § 1. Subsection (5) states that the section does not affect "the tenets of any church or religious belief."
21. The S.B. 1101 text on the Legislature's website (PDF) prints deleted and added words together, and its title says it revises "a provision regarding the death of a child." The comparison of old and new wording in the body relies on the bill title and on reading the PDF, not on a prior-year code print.
22. Idaho Code § 19-4301(2). The subsection speaks of a death "not attended by a physician" where "the cause of death cannot be certified by a physician."
23. Idaho Code § 19-4301A(1) (added 1961, last amended 2006, ch. 239).
24. Idaho Code § 19-4301A(2) and (3). The misdemeanor is punishable "by up to one (1) year in the county jail or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both such imprisonment and fine." The felony is punishable "by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not to exceed ten (10) years or by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or by both such fine and imprisonment."
25. State v. Akins, Idaho Supreme Court Docket No. 45347, 423 P.3d 1026 (Aug. 6, 2018) (Brody, J.; Burdick, C.J., and Horton, Bevan, JJ., and Medema, J. pro tem, concurring), opinion. Read from the slip opinion: it affirmed dismissal of a count under § 19-4301A(3) on Fifth Amendment grounds on the facts of that case. The Idaho Reports page cite was not confirmed. No other Idaho appellate decision interpreting chapter 28 or chapter 43 was located and verified, so none is cited.
26. Idaho Code § 19-4301B(1) and (2) (added 1961, amended 2025, ch. 96, § 2).
27. CDC Public Health Law Program, Idaho Coroner/Medical Examiner Laws (page), dated May 16, 2024. It answers "County-based" for the system type and "No" for a state medical examiner. It is a federal summary, not the statute, and it predates the 2025 amendments.
28. Idaho Code § 31-1606(1) (each official "limited in making expenditures or the incurring of liabilities to the respective amounts of such appropriations") and § 31-1607 (expenditures in excess "shall not be a liability of the county" and the official is "liable therefor personally and upon his official bond").
29. Idaho Code § 19-4301C (added 1961).
30. Idaho Code § 39-268(1), (2)(c) and (3) (text).
31. Idaho Code § 31-3412. The statute speaks of "the board," meaning the board of county commissioners, and caps the county's payment at "the established or negotiated rate set by each board."
32. Idaho Code §§ 39-3423(1) and (2) and 39-3417(3) (both added 2007, ch. 30). Section 39-3417(3) applies to "a coroner acting pursuant to this section."
33. Idaho Code § 39-260(1) (text), last amended 2014, ch. 45.
34. Idaho Code § 39-260(2)(a) to (c). Subsection (5) makes parallel referrals to the coroner for stillbirths in two situations.
35. Idaho Code § 31-2801A ("determining or certifying the cause and manner of death") compared with § 39-260(2) ("certify to the cause of death").
36. Chapter 28 (§§ 31-2801 to 31-2811), Title 19, chapter 43 (§§ 19-4301 to 19-4308) and § 39-260 were read in full for this module. None states the evidentiary standard for manner of death. Professional practice standards exist outside the code and were not reviewed.
37. Idaho Code § 39-273(d) (daily fine "not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) per day" after a notice of intent) and § 39-273(a) and (b) (felony for false certificates; misdemeanor for neglecting duties under the chapter).
38. Idaho Code § 39-270(a), (b) and (e).
39. Idaho Code § 19-4301(3) and (4); § 31-2801 ("The coroner must hold inquests as prescribed in the Penal Code"). The Penal Code reference leads to Title 19, chapter 43. The 2025 text says "may conduct an inquest" in subsection (3) of § 19-4301.
40. Idaho Code §§ 19-4302 (jurors sworn), 19-4303 (subpoenas and witnesses), 19-4304 (compelling attendance), 19-4305 (verdict by written inquisition) and 19-4308 (warrant). No Idaho case on a modern inquest was located. Juror pay is not addressed in the sections read.
41. Idaho Code § 19-4301D (added 1961) and § 19-4306 (testimony filed "with the inquisition, in the office of the clerk of the district court of the county"). Whether the filed report is open to public inspection is not stated in either section.
42. Idaho Code § 31-3106 (salaries fixed "through the county budget process, as detailed in chapter 16, title 31").
43. S.B. 1101, § 5, repealed Idaho Code § 31-2809 (added 1970, ch. 82). The chapter index at the Legislature's chapter page omits the section. The section's own page still showed its old text when checked on October 13, 2026. The CDC summary (note 27) still cites § 31-2809.
44. Idaho Code § 31-2806 (added 1992, ch. 95) and § 31-2006 (senior deputy designation). Section 59-915 does not govern the sheriff's vacancy.
45. Idaho Code § 31-2807; compare the bond amounts in § 31-2015(3) and (9).
46. Idaho Code § 31-2002(1), (2) and (5) (last amended 2025, ch. 296).
47. Idaho Code § 31-2808. History: 1959, ch. 160; am. 1994, ch. 105; am. 2002, ch. 58; am. 2022, ch. 109; am. 2025, ch. 90 and ch. 96. The misdemeanor penalty is stated in the section.
48. The "Provided, however" clause of § 31-2808. The 20,000 threshold is measured by "the most recent federal census." This module did not compile a county list.
49. Senate Bill 1121 (2025) (bill page): State Affairs Committee, passed the Senate 33-0-2 on February 28 and the House 66-0-4 on March 10, signed March 13, 2025, session law ch. 90, effective July 1, 2025. Statement of Purpose RS32465.
50. Idaho Code §§ 74-402 (policy), 74-403(4) (definition of conflict of interest, with exceptions (a) to (d)), 74-404(4) (disclosure by an elected county official; advisory opinion) and 74-406(1) (civil penalty up to $500 for intentional failure to disclose). No Idaho court decision applying these sections to a coroner was located.
51. Idaho Code §§ 74-501, 74-502(1) (remote interests), 74-504 (voidable) and 74-509 (misdemeanor, fine up to $1,000, jail up to one year).
52. Idaho Code § 31-3101 (monthly salary warrants; expenses; fees to the treasury; quarterly sworn statement).
53. Idaho Code § 31-3107.
54. Idaho Code § 31-1602(1), (2), (6) and (7). The budget officer is the county auditor. See the module on the clerk, auditor and recorder, county-clerk-role.html.
55. Idaho Code § 31-1606(1) and § 31-1607; emergency expenditures by unanimous commissioners' resolution under § 31-1608.
56. Idaho Code § 39-252(2) (amended 2010, ch. 355, and 2025, ch. 96, § 10). The base fee for certified copies in subsection (1) is $13, and the board of health and welfare may change it by rule.
57. RS32243 / S1101 Statement of Purpose and Fiscal Note, fiscal note paragraph.
58. Idaho Code § 34-1701(2)(a) (last amended 1995, ch. 266).
59. Idaho Code § 34-1702(3) (last amended 2025, ch. 205, § 1). The 2025 amendment was not compared against earlier text for this module.
60. Idaho Code § 34-1703(3) (form of county recall petition).
61. Idaho Code § 34-1704(1) and (2).
62. Idaho Code § 34-1713(1) to (3).
63. Idaho Code §§ 74-102(1), (4) and (10) and 74-103(1) to (5). Residents receive the first two hours of labor and the first 100 pages free under § 74-102(10)(a).
64. Idaho Code §§ 74-115(1), 74-116 and 74-117.
65. Idaho Code § 74-101(17)(b).
66. Idaho Code § 74-105 (text), photograph and image paragraph, added by S.B. 1250 (2026), bill page, session law ch. 148, signed March 26, 2026, effective July 1, 2026. The section was also amended in 2026 by ch. 61 and ch. 282, and the current print shows the paragraph as "[(25)](24)." Statement of Purpose RS32993: "to exempt photographs or images of decedent individuals from public disclosure."
67. Idaho Code § 74-106(1), (4)(e), (13) and § 39-270. The word "autopsy" does not appear in either section.
68. Idaho Code §§ 74-101(7), 74-105(1) and 74-124(1), (3) and (4). Section 74-124(3) defines the term for that section: "the office of the attorney general, the office of the state controller, the Idaho state police, the office of any prosecuting attorney, sheriff or municipal police department." Whether a coroner meets § 74-101(7) is not decided in any source located.
69. Senate Bill 1135 (2025) (bill page), State Affairs Committee, amending §§ 74-105 and 74-113; Statement of Purpose RS32509. The bill page lists introduction on February 26 and referral to Judiciary and Rules on February 27, and no later action.