The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) had suffered from a large backlog of cases due to a low number of physicians.
In early 2010, the Board of Medicolegal Investigations, which is the governing body of OCME, placed Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Collie Trant, M.D., on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons.
In his report, Cline recommended both greater oversight authority on the part of the Medicolegal Investigations Board as well as restructuring the organization of OCME.
Under currently State law, the Chief Medical Examiner, who must be a licensed physician, is the executive head of OCME, responsible for all operations and administration of the agency.
Citing legislative misconduct, Governor Henry vetoed SB738 on June 6 after being briefed by Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater on his ongoing investigation over political corruption involving that bill.