Coronet Instructional Films

“ With us the office of coroner is not an important one. Generally laymen are appointed to it, men who have done some work at that awful power, the political machine. This is wrong. The office of coroner should only be vested in medical men, and only in such who have shown that they are qualified to fill such a position of consequence. Every candidate for coroner should be examined in forensic medicine and pathology, and should give an ocular demonstration of his capability to make a thorough autopsy. ”

“ Such coronets cannot however be considered artistic objects, even when depicted apart from the crimson velvet bonnets which they encircle, and there is no reason why ladies should not devise and wear coronet-like ornaments of their own invention. ”

“ The Coroner's Court.—When a coroner is informed that the dead body of a person is lying within his jurisdiction, and that there is reasonable cause to suspect that such person died either a violent or unnatural death, or died a sudden death of which the cause is unknown, he must summon a jury of not less than twelve men to investigate the matter—in other words, hold an inquest—and if the deceased had received medical treatment, the coroner may summon the medical attendant to give evidence. ”

“ Coroners are officers at common law, because they deal principally with the pleas of the crown; and, possibly, the name may be derived from the manner of holding the inquest in corona popupuli. The Lord Chief Justice of the Queen’s Bench is, by virtue of his office, principal coroner of England; and may, if he pleases, exercise the jurisdiction of coroner in any part of the realm. ”

“ If a majority of the jury are not satisfied with the medical evidence, they may require the coroner, in writing, to summon another legally qualified practitioner, named by them, to make a post-mortem examination, with or without analysis of the contents of the stomach and intestines, and give evidence as to the cause of death. A medical practitioner who fails to obey the summons of a coroner, issued in pursuance of the Coroners Act, is liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, unless he shows good and sufficient cause for not having so done. ”

“ That is why I say that the profession of medicine should not be allowed to conflict with the solemn duties of the coroner. They are constantly clashing and infringing upon each other's territory. This coroner had a kind of tread-softly-bow-the-head way of getting around the room that made my flesh creep. He had a way, too, when I was asleep, of glancing hurriedly through the pockets of my pantaloons as they hung over a chair, probably to see what evidence he could find that might aid the jury in arriving at a verdict. ”

“ Call over and swear the jury!
“Well gentlemen,” the Coroner begins:—
“Silence there will you,” says the beadle—not the coroner, though it might appear so. “Well gentlemen!” resumed the coroner, “you are impanelled here, to enquire into the death of a certain man. Evidence will be given before you, as to the circumstances attending that death, and you will give your verdict according to the evidence and not according to anything else. The first thing to be done is to view the body. ”

“ A coroner is disqualified from acting as such in any case where the person killed or dangerously wounded is a co-employee with the coroner of any person or persons, association or corporation, or where it appears that the killing or wounding has been occasioned, directly or indirectly, by the employer of the coroner. ”

“ State and charitable hospitals cannot be made liable for autopsy performed by Coroner or Board of Health, when the consent of the relatives is withheld. It is high time that all charitable institutions in this country should require an autopsy from all patients dying within their walls. ”

“ The coroner is at best no more than an appendix to the legal anatomy, and frequently he is a disease. The spectacle of a medical man of small learning and less English trying to preside over a court of first instance is enough to make the accused himself chuckle for joy. ”

“ The Coroner, apparently more and more at sea, stared first at one and then another of the room's occupants, at the partition which separated the reception-room from the laboratory, and lastly through the open doorway into the hall. The most extreme of the different points were not over six feet apart; and for three men—wide awake and in full possession of their faculties—to be so close to such a crime and know nothing of it until it was all over! How could human ingenuity supply an explanation for so incongruous a circumstance? ”

“ In Bavaria, Saxony, Nassau, and Baden, there are regular coroners whose duty it is to inspect every corpse, while in England the coroner’s jury only convenes in cases where the cause of death is not apparent. ”

“ The cases narrated, plainly demonstrate that care, tact, delicacy, and discernment, are required at coroners’ inquests—for a two-fold object must be kept in view:—the one to ascertain the proximate cause of death, whether arising from natural or mechanical events, and the other, whether the law can take cognizance of, and bring to justice the incautious, the ill-disposed, and possibly the gross offender against the laws of his country. ”

“ Therefore it may be assumed, that great tact and discrimination is required in the examination in any case where medical evidence is of paramount importance, and consequently it may be believed, that unless gentlemen are properly educated, so as to be able to elicit important truths connected with the science of medicine in all its branches, as well as the legal points in coronership, they cannot be capable of conducting inquiries, in all the integrity, which these solemn occasions demand. ”

“ The present coroner has introduced several improvements on the old system, especially in the matters of holding inquests at public-houses, and the summoning of jurors Formerly the latter were chosen from the residents nearest to the scene of death, some gentlemen being continually called upon, while the occasional exhibition of a dead body in the back lumberroom of an inn yard, among broken bottles and gaping stablemen, was not conductive to the dignity of a coroner's court or particularly agreeable to the unfortunate surgeon who might have to perform a pout mortem. ”

“ They will telephone for the coroner. I will give the paper and the key when he come.” He held out his hand. “It is the law.”
“I have a natural hankering—sometimes—to break the law,” affirmed the young man. “I feel that fatal curiosity of mine stirring again, Friend Etienne. I will send the coroner. But coroners love mysteries. If we give him the letter it will take all the spice out of this affair. Let's make him happy—he can drag out the inquest and give his friends a long job on the jury.” He smiled and started away, shaking his head when the old man protested shrilly. ”

“ Surely there can be no necessity whatever. Let, then, the bodies, as they ought in every instance, be presented gratuitously. Wheresoever the death may occur, or the inquest be held, let the coroner of the district be empowered to assign the body to the hospital of that district, or to bequeath it for the public good, according to any other satisfactory arrangement that may be concluded on the occasion. ”

“ Should a statement on oath be made by any one before the coroner, that in his belief the death of the deceased was caused partly or entirely by the improper or negligent treatment of a medical practitioner, such medical practitioner shall not make or assist at the post-mortem examination. ”

“ Anciently the Coroner of the Verge had power to do all things within the Verge belonging to the office of the Coroner, to the exclusion of the Coroner of the County; but because the King’s Court was often moveable, it is ordained by stat. of Articuli p. 10super Cartas, c. 3, that on the death of a man, the Coroner of the County shall join in inquisition, to be taken thereof, with the Coroner of the King’s house, and if it happen it cannot be determined before the Steward, process and proceedings shall be thereupon had at common law. ”

“ Coroner, an officer of great antiquity, who is to enquire into the causes of all sudden deaths, where there is the least suspicion of murder, and for that purpose he impannels a jury, to whom he gives a charge, and takes evidence upon oath. The Lord Mayor for the time being is coroner of the city; but he appoints a deputy for the discharge of that office. The coroner’s jury have a right to examine the body of the deceased, and to call in the assistance of physicians or surgeons. They are to try the supposed murderer ”

“ As conditions exist at the present, crimes may be easily concealed, the safety of the community endangered by failures in diagnosis of communicable affections, and our morbidity and mortality statistics become a shame and reproach to the nation. The majority of our medicolegal autopsies are made by ignorant and imperfectly trained coroners and coroners’ physicians, mostly political appointees of inferior material. We need in our medical schools a greater amount of attention paid to the teaching of autopsy-technique and gross pathology. ”

“ If answered in the negative! surely the time has come for the reception of additional evidence, with the view, not only to improvement in accordance with the age in which we live, but for the maintenance of the legitimate object for which coroners’ courts were first established, and which they profess to uphold in all the integrity of seeking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. ”

“ The Coroner glanced at the little knot of professional men in the rear of the witness-box and seemed to be debating within himself as to whether he wanted to ask Dr. Mirandolet any more questions. Eventually he turned again to him.
"What your evidence amounts to, Dr. Mirandolet, is this," he said. "You were called to the man and you saw at once that you yourself could do nothing for him, so you got him away to the hospital as quickly as you possibly could. ”

“ The coroner could compel the attendance of witnesses and order a medical examination of the body, and if there were sufficient evidence to charge any person with murder or manslaughter, the coroner could have such person arrested and committed for trial. ”

“ And it was in this same spirit that he attended the coroner's inquest, which was held in the town hall. Over the deliberations, which were, at best, rather informal, Coroner Billy Teller presided.
The office of coroner was, in Lakeside, as in most New Jersey cities or towns, much of an empty title. At every election the names of certain men were put on the ticket to be voted for as coroners. ”

“ A coroner of our Lord the king ought to inquire of these things, first, when coroners are commanded by the king’s bailiffs or by the honest men of the county, they shall go to the places where any be slain, or suddenly dead or wounded, or where houses are broken, or where treasure is said to be found, and shall forthwith command four of the next towns, or five, or six, to appear before him in such a place ”

“ The coroner frequents more public houses than any man alive. The smell of sawdust, beer, tobacco smoke and spirits, is inseparable in his vocation from death in its most awful shapes. He is conducted by the beadle and the landlord to the Harmonic Meeting room, where he puts his hat on the piano, and takes a Windsor chair at the head of a long table, formed of several short tables put together, and ornamented with glutinous rings in endless involutions, made by pots and glasses. As many of the jury as can crowd together at the table p. ”

“ The coroner looked at her grey hairs and her wrinkles, and perhaps he was not disinclined for a minute’s sport.
“Forty-two,” said he, in a loud voice, to his clerk; “take it down. You have spoken correctly, ma'am, I hope,” he added, turning again to the witness, “This is a court of justice, remember, and you are upon your oath; you would not like to be tried for perjury.”
Mrs. Gould sobbed, and shrieked, and finally went off into real hysterics. When the bustle was over, the coroner began again.
“We have not quite got over the question of age. How old did you say you were?” ”

“ Until he and Ayscough walked into this particular one, Lauriston had never been in a Coroner's Court in his life. He knew very little about what went on in such places. He was aware that the office of Coroner is of exceeding antiquity; that when any person meets his or her death under suspicious circumstances an enquiry into those circumstances is held by a Coroner, who has a jury of twelve men to assist him in his duties: but what Coroner and jury did, what the procedure of these courts was, he did not know. ”

“ Grouped around the table but slightly behind the coroner sat the jury, and I was glad to note that the coroner had had the good sense to pick a fairly respectable set of men to judge the case, from which I argued hopefully that the gray-haired, heavy-set gentleman in charge of the case might possess a modicum of intelligence and a keener brain than the average coroner. ”

“ A coroner’s inquest is a judicial investigation. The coroner cannot delegate his authority to any one. Neither can he appoint a deputy under the common law. He must act in person as any other judicial officer; and it may safely be said that a coroner has no power to appoint a deputy coroner, except where special provision is made therefor by statute. [516] In England, a coroner’s court is a court of record, and it has accordingly been held that trespass cannot be maintained for turning a person out of a room where the coroner is about to take an inquisition. ”

“ But this other creature, in the ease of dropping out of the coach, will enjoy a coroner's inquest; consequently he will enjoy an epitaph. For I insist upon it, that the verdict of a coroner's jury makes the best of epitaphs. It is brief, so that the public all find time to read it; it is pithy, so that the surviving friends (if any can survive such a loss) remember it without fatigue; it is upon oath, so that rascals and Dr Johnsons cannot pick holes in it. "Died through the visitation of intense stupidity, by impinging on a moonlight night against the off hind wheel of the Glasgow mail! ”