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RESEARCH CORNER
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Duties and recent advancements for coroners and deputy coroners
s far back as ancient Greece, people were selected to investigate deaths in the community. The term “Coroner” initially comes from antiquity, namely when the deceased was entrusted to the coronator in which the corpse was prepared according to custom. Ancient Rome likewise had coroners investigating deaths. It was recorded that the body of Julius Caesar was examined by a physician named Antisius, who declared that out of 23 wounds inflicted, the one that penetrated the thorax was the cause of death. The Justinian Code (529-533 A.D.) required the opinion of physicians in certain cases and is often credited as the origin of recognition of the correlation of law and medicine in effecting legal justice. The formal office of “Coroner” originated in England around 1100-1200 A.D. During the time of Richard I, Richard the Lionheart. In September 1194, it was decreed by the “Articles of Eyre” to establish the office as the “keeper of the pleas of the Crown.” This role provided a local county official whose duty included protection of the financial interest and the interest of the Crown in criminal proceedings. They were appointed by the Crown to investigate violent, unexplained deaths and to make sure that any property left by the deceased was added to the treasure trove of the King of England. The Latin word for crown is “corona,” which is why the office became known as “Coroner.” In England the office of Coroner was a necessary substitute, for if the sheriff is interested in a suit, or if he is of affinity with one of the parties to a suit, the coroner must execute and return the process of the courts of justice. This role was qualified in Chapter 24 of the Magna Carta in 1215, which states, “No sheriff, constable, coroner or bailiff shall hold pleas of our Crown.” The person who found a body from a death thought sudden or unnatural was required to raise the “hue and cry” and to notify the coroner. Coronial manuals written for sheriffs, bailiffs, justices of the peace, and coroners were published in the 16th and 17th centuries. Handbooks specifically written for coroners were distributed in England in the 18th century. Determining the cause of deaths would also be important in the New World. It is believed that William Penn appointed one of the first coroners in the American colonies in 1682 after a dead body was found on a riverbank. This coroner system was used as the country grew, and coroners were elected in all the original 13 colonies. As the new states and territories developed, coroners were elected to be county officers, comparable to sheriffs, with whom they often traded places. Also, the coroner was instructed to investigate the facts concerning the death, proceeding in the same manner as was customary in England except that the property of the dead man was to be 14
held in trust for the heirs. Article 7, § 46, of the Arkansas Constitution, creates the elective office of coroners and directs the qualified electors of each county to elect Mark Whitmore one coroner. As per Amendment 95 Chief Legal Counsel of the Arkansas Constitution, coroners, along with seven other county elected offices, have four-year terms. (Justices of the peace are district officials who serve two-year terms.) Coroners have a litany of duties prescribed by Arkansas law. The County Lines readership and the public should briefly take time to learn of the some of these duties. When a death is reported to the coroner, he or she shall investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of an individual and gather and review background information, including, but not limited to, medical information and any other information that may be helpful in determining the cause and manner of death. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-301. Coroners are tasked with the investigation of deaths occurring within the county 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days per year. Although the duties of the county coroner may be conducted intermittently, the office is a full-time position. At any time, the coroner is required to investigate deaths. In Arkansas, coroners’ responsibilities are concurrent with and separate from sheriffs’ responsibilities. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-302(a). A coroner’s investigation does not include criminal investigation responsibilities. However, the coroner shall assist a law enforcement agency or the State Crime Laboratory upon request and shall be given access to death scenes to perform the duties set forth in this subchapter. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-302 provides that law enforcement officials must give the county coroner access to all scenes of deaths with respect to which the coroner is required to carry out an investigation pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-301. The Attorney General allowed that it is true that a coroner investigation does not include “criminal investigation responsibilities.” (See: Attorney General Opinion 1995-263.) However, the Attorney General construed this provision to mean, primarily, that the coroner is not responsible for determining the identities of persons who commit crimes resulting in death. In undertaking his investigation into the cause and manner of death, however, the coroner must satisfy himself or herself as to whether the death was the result of a crime. They act separately from and independently of the sheriff. A coroner may issue subpoenas as necessary to secure pertinent medical or other records and testimony relevant to the determination of the cause and manner of death, as well as COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2022
