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Chronology of Florida law closing autopsy photos
Tom Julin, attorney for the Independent Florida Alligator, wants NASCAR president Mike Helton to testify at the much-anticipated hearing to decide whether Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photos should be open to public inspection. The hearing is expected to test the constitutionality of a new state law restricting the release of autopsy photos. Complete story, click here. Dr. Steve Bohannon, a Daytona International Speedway doctor, testified in a deposition that the Dale Earnhardt autopsy photos were very graphic and disturbing. Bohannon, one of the doctors who worked on Earnhardt after his fatal crash Feb. 18, was the only person outside Volusia County's medical examiner's office who viewed the photos before they were sealed. Complete story, click here. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a new law that exempts autopsy photos from being public records. The new law is being challenged by The Independent Florida Alligator and a Deland-based Web site in Volusia County Circuit Court. Complete story, click here. Lawyers for the widow of Dale Earnhardt urged a judge to keep an injunction in place barring the public release of the race driver's autopsy photos. "Indeed, the only reasons access seems to be sought at all are to grab public attention and sell newspapers, all of which would come at the expense of the Earnhardt family," Teresa Earnhardt's attorneys said in memorandum filed in Circuit Court in Volusia County. Complete story, click here. The widow of racing legend Dale Earnhardt wants a Volusia County judge to look at her husband's autopsy photos so he will understand their "gruesome, personal and offensive nature." Teresa Earnhardt made the request earlier this week in preparation for a June 11 hearing to decide whether the student-run Independent Florida Alligator and DeLand-based Web site owner Michael Uribe can have access to the photos. Complete story, click here. When NASCAR commissioned an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the crash that claimed Dale Earnhardt, it figured the team of experts -- none of whom have been identified -- would plug along until uncovering all the answers. In an interview with CNNSI.com's Mike Fish, NASCAR president Mike Helton cautions that the much-anticipated report could fall short of answering all the questions when it's expected to be complete in August. Complete story, click here. NASCAR has approached the three rescue workers who worked to extricate Earnhardt from his wrecked car about re-creating the scene -- possibly either in North Carolina or Daytona Beach. The only hang up is Tommy Propst, the paramedic who challenged the assertion that Earnhardt's seat belt was broken in the accident, refuses to participate unless the "demonstration" is video taped. Complete story, click here. The physician who said a faulty seat belt might have been responsible for Dale Earnhardt's death at the Daytona 500 admits that he was quick in blaming the restraint system. "I was trying to answer the questions the media and the public had to the best of my ability and I think I speculated more than I should have," Dr. Steve Bohannon said. "Sometimes you should just say it's too early to speculate." Complete story, click here. Dale Earnhardt died when his head whipped violently forward in the seconds after his car hit a wall going 150 mph at the Daytona 500, an independent medical expert has concluded. Earnhardt didn't die from striking his head on a steering wheel because of a malfunctioning seat belt, as NASCAR officials have suggested, Dr. Barry Myers said in a report. Complete story, click here. A judge allowed a student newspaper and a Web site to challenge the sealing of the Dale Earnhardt autopsy photos and test the constitutionality of a new law that restricts access to such images. The decision was a blow for Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, who thought a compromise reached with another newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, had put to rest any future claims by the public to view the autopsy images of her husband. Complete story, click here. Two newspapers sued the Broward County medical examiner Friday, one day after Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law a measure restricting the release of autopsy photographs. The suit alleges the law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as the open government provision of the Florida Constitution. Complete story, click here. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill that closes autopsy photos from public record. The new law, certain to be tested in the courts, would bar public access to all autopsy photos unless a judge approves the release. Such photos had been open records as part of Florida's Sunshine Law, the most liberal public-records rule in the country. Complete story, click here.

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