The Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner's Office (JCCMEO) is notified by law enforcement agencies and medical facilities to investigate approximately 33% of the deaths occurring in Jefferson County. Pursuant to State of Alabama Code 45-37-60 (Act 79-454, p.739, §1-10), notification is made when there is suspicion of criminal violence or criminal neglect, criminal abortion, when a body is to be cremated, dissected, or buried at sea, unclaimed bodies, when a dead body is brought into the state without proper medical certification, when deaths are thought to result from trauma or violence or other non-natural processes, unexpected death without adequate medical history to explain death, in any prison or penal institution, when in police custody, disease constituting a hazard to public health when requested in writing by the County Health Officer, or deaths originating outside the geographical jurisdiction of the Coroner-Medical Examiner's Office, when authorized by the Chief Coroner-Medical Examiner of Jefferson County, for the purpose of assisting other coroner or medical examiner offices due to a perceived local conflict of interest, upon receiving official request in writing from the requesting coroner medical examiner.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Coroner/Medical Examiner's Office is to establish the identity of human remains and to determine the cause, manner, and circumstances surrounding death in all sudden and unexpected deaths occurring in Jefferson County, Alabama.
The Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office is fully accredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners.
The Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner's Office deputy coroners/investigators are certified medicolegal death investigators through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators.