44-3-201. State chief medical examiner. A state chief medical examiner must be appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the attorney general. The state chief medical examiner must be a physician licensed to practice medicine in Montana and must be board-certified in forensic pathology. Once appointed, the state chief medical examiner is supervised by the director of the laboratory of criminalistics. Medical examiners must be free from undue personal, professional, or political influences as they objectively pursue and report the facts and opinions of their death investigations.