Boulder County residents interested in filling the vacant position of coroner won’t have to campaign for election this time. Instead, they’ll apply and interview as they would for a regular job. Yet circumstances around this job are anything but regular.
Emma Hall resigned late last year from her position as Boulder County’s elected coroner, a role she held since 2011. Her resignation came after Boulder Reporting Lab exposed the findings of an internal investigation.
An independent investigator, hired by the county’s human resources department in the summer 2023, found that Hall exhibited favoritism, antagonism, micromanaged her employees, used multiple personas and made unauthorized purchases with her employees’ purchase cards. Several other complaints were brought against Hall but were unsubstantiated by the investigator.
Applications for Hall’s replacement opened on Jan. 11, her last day, and will remain open until Jan. 25. Public interviews will be held starting Feb. 6 in front of an interview panel that county officials said would include community partners who interact with the coroner, along with other elected officials.
There is also a public survey available for community members to voice their opinions on the coroner vacancy and replacement.
The chosen candidate will finish Hall’s term that runs through 2026. Her replacement will assume her salary of about $130,000 a year plus benefits.
The Boulder County coroner is responsible for investigating causes of death, signing death certificates and identifying bodies. The office plays a key role in flagging drug overdose trends and emerging diseases. Despite its medical and forensic responsibilities, in most Colorado counties it is an elected position with minimum eligibility requirements.
The job posting lists “education and experience as a medical examiner” as a preferred qualification. In some parts of the state, that is a mandatory requirement.
How does this not happen again?
The Board of County Commissioners held a town hall on Jan. 11 to discuss the position and hear from the public.
Most attendees were current or former staff of the county’s coroner office or people who interact with the office. Mike Murphy, a local funeral home director and a vocal detractor of Hall since 2014, posed one of the first questions, asking, “What’s going to be put in place so this doesn’t reoccur?”
Reporting by Boulder Reporting Lab revealed that Hall’s leadership issues started soon after she took office in 2011. Former employees expressed relief that the county commissioned an investigation but wondered why it took 12 years. Concerns weren’t limited to management. Some employees told Boulder Reporting Lab that Hall’s limited experience as a death investigator was allegedly apparent early on, causing concern about the efficacy of investigations.
At the town hall, the elected commissioners explained to Murphy they have no oversight authority over other elected officials. Similar to the sheriff and district attorney, the coroner is accountable to voters.
“We have no authority over them,” Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann said. “The community chooses them, and ultimately the community has measures and methods for removal, and for picking someone different.”
The only reason this summer’s investigation took place, according to the county human resources department, was that staff complaints included “a discriminatory basis” for the first time. The county formally investigates reports by employees of sexual harassment, discrimination or retaliation.
Commissioner Claire Levy added that everyone engaging with elected officials plays a role in the checks and balances process. “The voters — people who interact with the coroner’s office and have a positive experience or not a positive experience — have a role in this whole accountability piece,” she said.
Deron Dempsey, who was a medical investigator for Boulder County from 2004 to 2011, and ran against Hall for coroner in 2014, suggested voters can’t hold the coroner accountable if they don’t understand the role.
The 2014 campaign raised concerns about Hall, including personnel issues and interference with tissue donations through prolonged investigations. Despite these concerns, Hall won and ran uncontested since. In 2019, after winning three elections, Hall requested that county commissioners put a measure on the ballot to extend term limits for the coroner from three to five four-year terms. It passed despite the coroner’s office experiencing high turnover and lawsuits from former employees.
“We see there’s a vulnerability in the election process,” Dempsey said. “Trying to inform voters on a field that is so nuanced and specific is not easy.”
Appointed medical examiners
Denver does not have an elected coroner. Instead, it follows the model in many parts of the country of appointing a medical examiner with more stringent qualifications.
“Our doctors run the office,” said Steven Castro, manager of operations for the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner. He pointed to historical documentation indicating that Denver grappled with issues in the coroner system as far back as the 1920s. It changed to a medical examiner system in the late 1940s.
“Instead of a political deputy with no training,” states an article from the Rocky Mountain News in 1947, “the duties will be performed by medical examiners who are specialists in the field.”
Appointing a medical examiner could provide more oversight for the position, instead of relying solely on voters.
In Boulder County, to run for coroner, you only have to be 18, have a high school diploma, live in Boulder County and not be a felon. No medical or forensic experience is necessary. Emma Hall, at the time of her election, had 18 months of experience as a deputy coroner death investigator in Adams County, in addition to a bachelor’s degree in criminalistics from Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Boulder Reporting Lab obtained a draft of a state bill dealing with coroners that could be considered this legislative session. The bill would mandate that coroners in counties with populations greater than 250,000 be certified by the American Board of Mediolegal Death Investigators or be a forensic pathologist certified by the American Board of Pathology. Both certifications require education and experience far above current requirements. Basic certification under the American Board of Mediolegal Death Investigators, however, only requires 640 hours of on-the-job experience, roughly equivalent to four months in a 40-hour work week.
Boulder could take another path to switch to a medical examiner system, albeit a challenging one.
“Counties can go home rule through a vote of the people,” Commissioner Stolzmann said.
Colorado’s state constitution mandates that counties elect their coroners. To get around this requirement, Boulder County could vote to create a charter commission. This commission would need to recommend that the county switch to a medical examiner system and then voters would have to approve the recommendation. While this process would require multiple voting rounds by residents, it could result in aligning Boulder with Denver’s approach of having doctors at the helm.
Another option for Boulderites is to vote to roll back term-limit extensions they approved during Hall’s tenure. Neither of these options are currently in the works.
At the town hall, the county commissioners focused on their opportunity to get a coroner who is qualified for the job.
“The three of us have a responsibility, and a really unique opportunity to a lot of the people in this room and to the entire community,” Stolzmann said. “We have an obligation to work to really get it right.”
