Coroner In The Criminal Justice System

In 871 AD, the job of the coroner was first established during the reign of King Alfred, and from there the system blossomed, and in 925 AD, the first Coroner's office was made (History of Medicolegal System, 2015). As time progressed the need for coroners bloomed and the requirements to becoming one climbed. In recent years, the coroner's office exists in all counties and may be united with the sheriff's office and require an election process. Coroners do not only identify and examine dead bodies, but they testify as expert witnesses in court, identify and value objects, and contact the families of the ones who have passed (Sacramento County, 2016). The requirements of a coroner and the demands of the job are more than some individuals may …show more content…
They can speak upon how an individual, or many, were killed and how that may affect the case. The verdict that a coroner gives can determine who may have killed someone, how, or why and if it tied in with the case at hand, possibly creating more reason to prove someone guilty or non-guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (Sacramento County, 2016), (History of Mediological System). The criminal justice system is reliant on coroners with the increasing availability in technology to show numerous amounts of evidence to be used in tried cases (Sacramento County, 2016). Coroners are also the ones who are able to make sure that evidence was not tampered with by researching it when comes into the office and making sure the chain of evidence is followed. The coroner’s do all of their work inside their office, but their vast amount of information is essential in the courts for a cohesive …show more content…
Recently in Sacramento County, there were five cases that were related to street sold painkillers (Sac Bee, 2016). Fentanyl has been laced into many Norco’s which are being sold on the street and are commonly abused (Sac Bee, 2016). She has tested the five bodies that were discovered, and has stated that she cannot confirm that these individuals were absolutely killed by the drugs (Sac Bee, 2016). After looking at recent cases that are large and that are small, there are also cases that are from many years ago. 35 years ago Mary London was killed and there was no person charged with her death (FOX40, 2016). Now the detectives have a person of interest and are reopening that case (FOX40, 2016). They are able to use the coroner's report, even after all of these years because they are one of the most important pieces of information when solving a death (FOX40,