Zepeda Olivares et al v. Fresno et al

Filing 14

ORDER ON OBJECTIONS TO THE EX PARTE REQUEST FOR A PRIVATE AUTOPSY signed by District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on November 14, 2023. (Munoz, I)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MARTHA ZEPEDA OLIVARES, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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CASE NO. 1:23-cv-01575 JLT SAB
ORDER ON OBJECTIONS TO THE EX
PARTE REQUEST FOR A PRIVATE
AUTOPSY

v.
CITY OF FRESNO, et al.,
Defendants.

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The Court issued a preliminary order granting the plaintiffs’ request for a private

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autopsy of the body of Maximiliano Sosa, Jr., who, it is alleged, was recently shot and killed by

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one or more member of the Fresno Police Department. The plaintiffs seek to have the autopsy

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occur before the body is embalmed, due to the changes that can be made to the forensic

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evidence due to the embalming process.

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Mr. Sosa’s wife, Maria Sosa, has filed objections to the order. (Docs. 11, 12) She objects

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that she is entitled to determine the disposition of Mr. Sosa Jr’s remains, that the autopsy is

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unnecessary because the Fresno County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy and that she

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disagrees to further desecration and mutilation of the body, that the private autopsy will delay

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the funeral, which will delay the ability of Mr. Sosa Jr.’s loved ones to begin the grieving

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process, and because the plaintiffs’ have failed to provide details about the proposed private

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autopsy. Id. Though the Court is saddened for Mrs. Sosa and all of Mr. Sosa Jr.’s family for
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their loss and for all of the additional pain that a private autopsy will impose, the Court

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OVERRULES Mrs. Sosa’s objections.

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First, the Court makes no finding about the status of Mrs. Sosa’s relationship to Mr.

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Sosa Jr. To the extent that there is a dispute on this topic, resolving it now is unnecessary

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because the Court recognizes Mrs. Sosa’s significant interest in how Mr. Sosa Jr.’s body is

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treated. This order allowing the private autopsy to proceed is not intended to disparage any of

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Mrs. Sosa’s rights or to determine the rights of any party to inherit or to prosecute the estate’s

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case.

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Second, the Court recognizes that the Fresno County Coroner’s Office has conducted an

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autopsy on the body. However, the Court’s experience in these types of matters is consistent

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with the authorities cited by the plaintiff’s request and in their response to the objections. In

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addition, the value of expert testimony is increased if the witness has examined the body. Thus,

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in fairness, the plaintiffs deserve to be able to gather needed evidence to prosecute this action.

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Also, the Court agrees that the fact that the autopsy determined the manner of death, this is a far

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cry from determining how Mr. Sosa Jr. died.

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In addition, the suggestion that embalming and burial does not impact the ability to

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gather evidence is unsupported and is contrary to the evidence presented. In addition, if the

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body were buried and later exhumed, the distress imposed on loved ones would be magnified.

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Third, the response to the objections sets forth the information that Mrs. Sosa desired.

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The plaintiffs have identified where the autopsy will occur and by whom and how long it will

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take, including that they will bear the costs associated with it.

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Fourth, the plaintiffs report that the private autopsy will result in no additional

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disfigurement and that any delay to the funeral, scheduled for November 22, 2023, will be

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modest. The fact that the service is planned so far out poses the significant potential that no

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delay will occur at all.

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For all of these reasons, the objections are OVERRULED. The Court’s order issued on

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November 8, 2023 is now effective. The plaintiffs SHALL immediately arrange for and have

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completed, the private autopsy. In addition, the plaintiffs SHALL serve Mrs. Sosa, Wallin
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Funeral Home and the City of Fresno with this order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

November 14, 2023

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