The city fiscal—His duties.
Section 58
SEC. 58. The city fiscal—His duties.—There shall be a city fiscal, who shall discharge his duties under the general" supervision of the Secretary of Justice. He shall be the chief legal adviser of the city and all offices and departments thereof: shall represent the city in all civil cases wherein the city or any officer thereof in his official capacity is a party; shall attend, when required, meetings of the Board, draft ordinances, contracts, bonds, leases and other documents involving any interest of the city, and inspect and pass upon all such documents already drafted; shall give his opinion in writing when requested by the Mayor or the Board upon any question relating to the city, or the rights or duties of any city officers; shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge that any city officer or employee is guilty of neglect or misconduct in office, or that any person, firm, or corporation holding or exercising any franchise or public privilege from the city has failed to comply with any condition, or to pay any consideration mentioned in the grant of such franchise or privilege, investigate the same and report to the Mayor; shall, when directed by the Mayor, institute and prosecute in the city's interest a suit on any bond, lease, or other contract, and upon any breach or violation thereof; and shall prosecute and defend all civil actions related to or connected with any city office or interest. He shall also have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of city ordinances, in the Court of First Instance and in the Municipal Court of the city, and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecutions enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals. The city fiscal shall cause to be investigated all charges of crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of ordinances, and have the necessary informations or complaints prepared against the person accused. He may conduct any investigation by taking oral evidence of reputed for this purpose may, by subpoena, summon witnesses lo appear and testify under oath before him, and the attendance or evidence of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application to the Municipal Court or the Court of First Instance. No witness summoned to testify under this section shall be under obligation to give any testimony tending to incriminate himself, and no testimony elicited from a witness by such examination under oath before the city fiscal under this section shall be used against such witness in any prosecution pending or thereafter instituted against him. The city fiscal shall also cause to be investigated the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicion that the causes arose from the unlawful acts or omissions of other persons, or from foul play. For that purpose, he may cause autopsies to be made and shall be entitled to demand and receive the aid of the president of the sanitary division of the city or of the district health officer for purposes of such investigations or autopsies. He shall at all times render such professional services as the Mayor or the Board may require, and shall have such powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.