The Coroner’s Court, Westminster, London : Pic of the Week

The following is a guest post by Alexander Salopek, a collection development specialist in the Collection Services Division of the Law Library of Congress. He previously wrote posts on Fred Korematsu’s Drive for Justice, Fred Korematsu Winning Justice, What a Difference 17 Years Made, and Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, among others.

While wandering London in search of a full English breakfast, I came across a lovely building in Central London which piqued my interest. The Coroner’s Court that I have photographed is the one for Westminster in London; it was built of red brick and Portland stone in 1893 by G. R. W. Wheeler, according to the National Heritage List for England. As you may remember from my blog post about Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, coroners in the U.S. are officials charged with making a ruling on the cause of death; having medical expertise is not a requirement, and often they do not have that expertise.

Coroners in England and Wales have been elected officials whose positions originally were codified in 1275 and consolidated laws in 1887 and 1988. (Matthews, 4.) In earlier times, coroners would hold an inquest, sometimes with a jury, which was an investigation of a sudden death before the body could be buried. (Dorries, 3.) It would be necessary for a ruling to be homicide if a person was going to be charged with murder. In 2009, a new law was passed for coroners that put the system in England and Wales more in line with the European Conventions on Human Rights. This change in law led to the creation of the Chief Coroner, who among his or her many duties includes the creation of training materials for coroners. (Cross & Garnham, 9.)  This law also abolished the position of Coroner of the Queen’s/King’s Household, which when they empaneled a jury would have only members of the royal family – something that caused some problems after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. (Dorries, 17.) This law also changed the nomenclature of what the coroners do, in that the first parts are called investigations – and only the later parts are judicial hearings, now called inquests. (Cross & Garnham, 13.)

Sources

KD7296 .I57 2016 Cross, C. & Garnham, N. (Eds.) The Inquest Book: the Law of Coroners and Inquests.

KD7296 .D67 2014 Dorries, C. Coroners’ Courts: a Guide to Law and Practice.

KD7296 .J47 2020 Matthews, P. Jervis on the Office and Duties of Coroners: with Forms and Precedents.

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