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The Coroner "Kept Several Skulls as Trophies from the Deceased He Examined"

Eugene Volokh | 6.16.2026 5:25 PM

A very short excerpt from yesterday's Seventh Circuit opinion in Betts v. Boone County, written by Chief Judge Michael Brennan and joined by Judge Michael Scudder:

The Coroner of Boone County, Illinois, engaged in abhorrent and macabre behavior. Wesley Hyland kept several skulls as trophies from the deceased he examined. One was that of Louise Betts. Over four decades later, after the coroner's death, the County returned her skull to the Betts family. The family sued the County under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The question in this appeal is whether Hyland's actions established an "official policy" of unconstitutionally retaining human remains [which would make the County liable -EV]. We hold the answer is no. The County is not liable under Monell v. Department of Social Services (1978), because state law requires that coroners return bodily remains to families. Hyland frustrated an official policy rather than established one….

The Bettses' § 1983 suit alleges that the County violated the Fourteenth Amendment by depriving them of property without due process. The first question is whether they have a property interest in their........

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