1. A coroner or medical examiner has jurisdiction and authority to investigate the death of every person dying within his county, or whose body is found within the county, which is or appears to be: (a) A violent death, whether by criminal violence, suicide or casualty; (b) A death caused by unlawful act or criminal neglect; (c) A death occurring in a suspicious, unusual or unexplained manner; (d) A death while unattended by a physician, so far as can be discovered, or where no physician able to certify the cause of death as provided in the public health law and in form as prescribed by the commissioner of health can be found; (e) A death of a person confined in a public institution other than a hospital, infirmary or nursing home. 2. Except as provided in subdivision one of section six hundred seventy-four of this article, when a coroner is not a physician duly licensed to practice medicine in this state, the jurisdiction and authority specified in this section must be exercised jointly by the coroner and a coroner's physician.
New York Legal Code