The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-11-27
Coropcr's Inqucsts.


print 1t in full.
It is the duty OF coroners to hold inquests super
utsum corporis, only where there are suspicious
circumstances surrounding the DEATH indicating
that II was caused felonlously or In violent or
unnatural manner. Where death results from
natural causes, as by a stroke of lightning, flt
ofepllepsy, apopexy, or a fall induced by drunk
enness, there should be no inquest.
The coroner Is the judge OF the necessity for an
inquest, and It viii be presumed that he acted in
good folth and his costs viii be allowed until the
contrary Is shown.
Coroners' Jurors are entitled TO one dollar per
day where the time employed does not exceed six
hours and one dollar and nifty cents per day where
It exceeds that amount and the time should ap-
pear by the return OF the inquest. They are en-
titled to no mileage or travelling expenses.
A constable is not entitled to fees from the
county for summoning a coroner's jury. The cor
oner must summon his own jury or pay for II him
self
Witnesses before a coroners jury are entitled to
no fees or travelling expenses.
The county is liable for the services OF physi-
clan, called In by the coroner to make post NOR
tenn examination, but not for the services OF two
physicians
where justice of the peace holds an inquest, it
should appear by the return that he had jursdlc-
tion by reason OF absence or inability of the
ner or that his ofce was more than ten miles dis
| tant where the death occurred.
The testimony taken before the coroner should
| not be returned with the inquest.
Sur return of inquests, super risipn co,poris,
submitted for approval and certificate of
probable cause. Q. s. Crawford County.
The opinion of the court was delivered
October ~, 1885.
! CHURCH, p. J. There are several mat
ters in the court pending my action, and
which makes it necessary and advisable
that call the attention not only of the cor
oner of the county, but of all justices of
the peace throughout the county, and, in
deed, of the public generally, to the law on
the subject of coroners and justices of the
peace when holding inqucsts, super cisum
co,poris.
The coroner is very ancient officer, and
originally acted only III the nature of II
committing magistrate. Much of his au-
thority in England he doriyed from the
common law and the acts of parliament,
which afterwards defined more particular
ly his authority, became part of the law
of this commonwealth. 1t is the duty of
the coroner to hold inquests, super risun
corporis, where he has cause to suspect that
the deceased was feloniously destroyed or
where his death was caused by violence, or
where he has any ground to suspect that
the death of any person was an unnatural
one, or an unaccountable one, or a suspi-
cions one. When the cause of death is not
doubtful, the coroner ought not to put the
county to the expense of holding an in
quest.
! 1t is true that tle presumption is that
the coroner acts in good faith and with suf-
ficient cause in holding the inquest but
that presumption may be overthrown by
evidence, and when the coroner, holding
an inquest, seeks to compel the payment
of his fees by the county, the county may
always show, if it can, that the coroner
acted not IN good faith and without suffl-
cient cause or reason.
| 1t is the coroner himself who is to exer.
else his discretion, aud he is held account
able for the proper exercise of this discre-
| ton, as | haye before said. He is the
only Judge Of the necessity of the inquest 4;
| he is the one to determine whether any
suspicion exists rs to the cause of death ;
| and not the neighbors or relatives of de-
ceased. The coroner Should not hold an
inquest because an individual requests it,,
but for the primary investigation of the
circumstances of the case. So long as
there are no circumstances hanging around
the finding of the dead body, or the death
| of the individual, the coroner need not act
neither should he act, nor any one else
act for him.
We have an act of assembly which pro-
vides that, in all cases where, by law, the
| coroner of any county is required to hold
an inquest over a dead body, it shall be
lawful for justice of the peace of the pro-
per county to hold the same, where there
is no lawfully appointed coroner, or he is
absent from the county, unable to attend,
or his office is held more than ten miles
distant from the place where the death oc-
Cured or the body is found, and said JUS
tice shall have like power to select, sum
mon, and compel the attendance of wit
nesses and jurors, receive like fees, tax
like costs, and the inquest shall have like
force and effect in law.
1t will be seen that the jurisdiction of
the justice of the peace in this sort of mat
tiers is purely statutory; that is to say, he
has no right to hold an inquest outside of
the power given him by statute. 1t fol-
lows, therefore, that his jurisdiction to
hold an inquest must appear on the face of
his return of the inquest that is to say,
it must appear that there was no lawfully
appointed coroner in the county, or that he
was absent from the county, or unable TO
attend the inquest; or that his Office is
more than ten miles distant from the place
where the death occurred, or the body found.
have before me hve several returns of
inquests super risum corporis, held by justices
of the peace in different parts of the coun-
ty, which have been submitted to me for
certificate of probable cause for holding
the same, and for approval thereof. In no
diction appear, and. hence, have no in
formation upon the subject of the authority
of the several justices of the peace to ho'd
these inquests. In two of the cases before
me the inqnests find that the deceased was
struck by lightning one finds that the de-
ceased died in an apoplectc fit and anoth-
er that the deceased died in an epileptic fit;
and the fifth one finds that the deceased
fell down stairs in drunken fit.
One would suppose that when death &C.
ours IN a fit OF epilepsy, or by a stroke of
apopleXy, or by stroke of lightning, or by
II fall induced by drunkenness, that such
death was not caused by the commission
of any felony, or by undue means, or in
any unnatural manner, or in suspicious
or doubtful manner.
These deaths, or at least four of them,
certainly occurred through visitation of
God, and this could be as well known to
the public and to the neichbors of the de.
ceased as though he or she had died in his
or bnr hnl Tlpra pon ha M nxc,so For