Coroner

A coroner is a government official whose standard role is to confirm and certify the death of an individual within a jurisdiction. A coroner may also conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction. In England, where the role originated, a coroner also deals with treasure trove cases. In medieval times, English coroners were crown officials who held financial powers and conducted some judicial investigations in order to counter-balance to the power of sheriffs.

The word coroner derives from the same source as the word crown, and denotes an officer of the crown. The Spanish etymological cognate for a crown officer, coronel, designates a colonel.

Duties and functions

Responsibilities of the coroner may include overseeing the investigation and certification of deaths related to mass disasters that occur within the coroner's jurisdiction. A coroner's office typically maintains death records of those who have died within the coroner's jurisdiction.

Coroner (disambiguation)

A coroner is a government official who investigates human deaths and determines cause of death.

Coroner may also refer to:

See also

Coroner (album)

Coroner is the penultimate release by the Swiss thrash metal band Coroner. It is technically a compilation album, although it features new material as well as selected songs from the band's previous albums. It is also regarded as their final album, even though it was succeeded by a final compilation of unreleased material in 1996, titled The Unknown Unreleased Tracks 1985-95. The band chose to go into the studio for the last time, instead of releasing a "Greatest Hits" compilation, even though they had disbanded officially in 1994 (on some of the tracks, Edelmann and Broder are replaced by session musicians).

Track listing

Coroner (band)

Coroner is a Swiss thrash metal band from Zürich. They garnered relatively little attention outside of Europe. Formed in 1983, the band broke up in 1996, but reformed 14 years later. The band has performed at multiple live venues and festivals around the world since 2011, and is planning to work on new material. Coroner's music combines elements of thrash, classical music, avant-garde music, progressive rock, jazz, and industrial metal with suitably gruff vocals. With their increasingly complex style of progressive rock-infused thrash, they have been called "the Rush of thrash metal". Coroner's sound then progressed and the production became more refined, resulting in the more progressive No More Color, Mental Vortex and Grin albums.

History

Career and breakup

The Swiss thrash trio Coroner were originally road crew for Celtic Frost. They eventually cut their own songs, recording their demo Death Cult in 1986 with Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost on vocals. Their first full-length album R.I.P., released in 1987, featured bass player Ron Broder on vocals and he assumed the role for the rest of the group's existence.

Inquest

An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coroner or medical examiner. Generally, inquests are only conducted when deaths are sudden or unexplained. An inquest may be called at the behest of a coroner, judge, prosecutor, or, in some jurisdictions, upon a formal request from the public. A coroner's jury may be convened to assist in this type of proceeding. Inquest can also mean such a jury and the result of such an investigation. In general usage, inquest is also used to mean any investigation or inquiry.

An inquest uses witnesses, but suspects are not permitted to defend themselves. The verdict can be, for example, natural death, accidental death, misadventure, suicide, or murder. If the verdict is murder or culpable accident, criminal prosecution may follow, and suspects are able to defend themselves there.

Inquests in England and Wales

Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove". In England and Wales inquests are the responsibility of a coroner, who operates under the jurisdiction of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Where an inquest is needed

There is a general duty upon every person to report a death to the coroner if an inquest is likely to be required. However, this duty is largely unenforceable in practice and the duty falls on the responsible registrar. The registrar must report a death where:

Inquest (1939 film)

Inquest is a 1939 British crime film directed by Ray Boulting and starring Elizabeth Allan, Herbert Lomas, Hay Petrie and Barbara Everest. In the film, a young widow is accused of murder, and enlists the support of a King's Counsel to help prove her innocence. It was based on a play by Michael Barringer which had previously been adapted as a film in 1931. The film was a quota quickie made at Highbury Studios to be used as a supporting feature.

Cast

Critical reception

TV Guide concluded, "not bad as courtroom dramas go. This was the first attempt by the Boulting brothers to give higher production values to programmer filmmaking."

References