The history of the coroner system and the medical examiner system.
Research the history of the coroner system and the medical examiner system.
When and where were the systems introduced to the United States?
What is a brief history of each?
Provide a URL for any Web site(s) you used in researching the coroner system and medical examiner system.
Then, compare and contrast the coroner system versus the medical examiner system–consider specialization and expertise, licensing, and employment status.
Choose a jurisdiction (state, county, or city) in the United States. What are the qualifications to become a coroner and chief medical examiner in the jurisdiction of your choosing? Provide a URL for any Web site(s) you used in researching the qualifications.
Which position (corner or medical examiner) seems more interesting to you, and why?
Sample Solution
The history of the coroner system and the medical examiner system
In 1194, the coroner system was formally established in England with the original interest in death to protect the financial interest of the crown. This coroner system was brought to the United States during the early 1600s where the first recorded autopsy was performed in Massachusetts in 1647. Significant changes were made to improve upon the coroner system. In 1877, the first medical examiner was established in the state of Massachusetts requiring that the coroner be supplanted by a physician known as a medical examiner. Using the system established in Massachusetts as a model, New York City developed an improved medical examiner system in 1915.
