Florida Statute 406.135
“Autopsies; confidentiality of photographs and video and audio recordings; confidentiality of reports of minor victims of domestic violence; exemption”
What it means
Enacted five weeks after Dale Earnhardt's death, Florida Statute 406.135 makes autopsy photographs and video and audio recordings confidential and exempt from the public-records law. The written autopsy report generally remains public — with two newer exceptions: the report of a minor whose death was related to an act of domestic violence, and the report of a person whose manner of death was suicide, are confidential too.
The surviving spouse may view and copy the protected records; if none, the surviving parents; if none, adult children. Anyone else needs a court order on a showing of good cause. Willful and knowing violation is a third-degree felony.
- Autopsy photographs, video, and audio recordings are confidential and exempt from §119.07(1) and the constitutional public-records right.
- Family access runs surviving spouse → surviving parents → adult children, and a relative may designate an agent in writing.
- Written autopsy reports are confidential in two cases: a minor's domestic-violence-related death (2023) and a death by suicide (2024).
- Anyone else needs a court order on good cause — weighing public evaluation of governmental performance, intrusiveness and less-intrusive alternatives, and similar information already available.
- Willful and knowing violation by a custodian, or violation of a court order under the section, is a felony of the third degree.
- Governmental agencies may obtain the records for official duties; use in criminal or administrative proceedings stays outside the exemption.
How it plays out
This statute reaches every Florida family, not just famous ones — medical examiners apply it to ordinary deaths daily. Where it meets probate: a wrongful-death case needs the autopsy file, and the written report is usually obtainable while the photographs require family status or a court order. Since the 2024 amendment, suicide reports are confidential too, which changes what insurers and estranged relatives can pull. Families on the other side — trying to keep images sealed — hold the stronger statutory position.
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