Coronial Process: The Coroner's Decision Making

I feel that this case was somewhat representative of what was discussed in the textbook. The forensics aspects of this case were generally different from the impression of forensics I received from reading the textbook. Despite this fact, I feel that the investigative techniques of this case were similar to what was discussed in the textbook, as well as what has been discussed during lecture.

The coroner is responsible for identifying the victim as well as determining the cause and manner of death.

If you die without having a will created the estate assets become frozen and the court manages it. No thought is put into the deceased family. A living will is a document that talks about if a person become extremely ill they do not have to be kept alive by medical machines if they don’t want to be. Everyone should obtain life insurance so when they die there living family members will be provided enough money for a standard life. Between your living estate and insurance you must have enough money to cover all debt, future obligations, and supporting your

The current jury system is based on an almost millennium-old principle found in the Magna Carta (1215). As a result of changes in society since, the system must be seen as potentially outdated. In other words, it may not satisfy the needs of modern society, judged by what the major stakeholders of the criminal justice system expect. Indeed, there are substantial flaws in current jury systems in terms of effectiveness. The two major concerns with jury systems are their representativeness and their levels of competence. The representativeness of juries is essential as their reason for existing is to represent the views of society. Having twelve jurors could be understood to ensure representativeness and eliminate room for bias. However, this does not remove the possibility of juries being biased towards parties. Even if the potential jurors contacted are representative in terms of gender, ethnicity, age and socioeconomic status and though jury duty is a compulsory engagement, 90% of Queenslanders opt out of it. This makes it very likely that juries will not be representative. One example is ethnic diversity. There is likely to be less ethnic diversity in courts because ethnic minorities might not have sufficient language ability or access to interpreters to be jurors. Another example is age. It is likely that retired people

This method may have been sufficient in the 10th century when people were illiterate and believed the world was flat; however, the scientific world since then has grown exponentially. Science is a powerful study, aiding us in understanding the complex process life and the absence of life, death. Pathology, the science of disease, has assisted in the arrests of countless criminals, uncovering the truth and more notably providing a sense of closure for the loved ones of the deceased. A coroner system without the foundation of science is a system that keeps murders on the streets, the innocent behinds bars and prosecutors frozen in cases. The most memorable example of inefficiency is Dr. Paul McGarry, who made careless errors in not just one but four autopsies. In the case of new prison inmate Cayne Miceli, McGarry initially determined the cause of death to be a drug overdose. Upon the further examination, a second examiner found a heap of mucus in her lungs indicating she had severe asthma. The doctor then concluded the real cause of death was the jail restraints on her chest blocked her airways during an asthma attack (Thompson, 2011, para 13-16). A peculiar fact about the case was the McGarry concluded the cause of death before he got the test results. Could he had been trying to hide something? After all, he is an elected official which according to the NAS

Coroners, originated in England during the early 10th century and transitioned over to the the United States in the 1600’s. Coroners were not required to have any medical training and were appointed by the King and Queen, up until the year 1888, when they would be appointed by local committees. In the United States a coroner would serve two to four years as an official, their duties included investigating the cause of death of an invidduials who is believed to have died by the hands of another or from an accident (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2014). In attrition to investigations made by the coroner, they had the responsibility to , assess the assets and wealth of the deceased, as well as tax collection (James, Nordby, & Bell, 2014)

From day to day it may be different but typical the homicide detective will be called to a investigation scene. First off when you get to the scene I will assess and manage the scene. This means examining the victim for clues. Next I will document the scene I would complete a walk through, making sure I do not disturb any evidence. Also making permanent record of the scene, it is important to do this before moving anything. After that I will photography or videotape the scene conducting a thorough search; make a rough sketch; dust for fingerprints; identify, document, and collect all fluids and fibers: and control evidence to maintain its integrity. Then canvass the area to locate witnesses. This step is critical because more homicides are solved by canvassing than any other method. Finally identify suspects, proper handling suspects leads to a successful prosecution. But remember that all suspects are still entitled to their rights C. The excitement of going to work each day and not knowing what is in store for you is very interesting. This job may be asking a lot even in an investigation but the adrenaline is very

Justice Evatt delivered a paper to the Australian Legal Convention which entitled “The Jury System in Australia” in 1936 . Justice Evatt’s thesis of Jury trials was that “in modern day society the jury system is regarded as an essential feature of real democracy”. Jury trials in the nineteenth century were found way before in four colonies Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia . When Trial by Judge alone was first introduced in South Australian thirty eight were held in the Supreme Court between 1989 and 1993, meaning all annual percentage of all criminal trials in the court ranged between 3.9% and 8.9% . The Juries Act SA 1927 was amended many times making some major changes. In 1966, women were introduced in the South Australian Jury system as only men were capable of serving on Juries. An increase to the number of jurors available to contribute in a criminal trial was amended in 2004 . It now states in the Juries Act 1927 under section 6A that if court agrees there are good reasons to add additional jurors of 2 or 3 it can be empanelled for a criminal trial .

It is recognised that Australia’s System of decision making in the court is in need of reform, if the

This being said, trials involving jury’s makeup an extremely small amount of court cases in Australia. Most cases of a criminal nature are heard Summarily in the Magistrates court before being given the opportunity to a trial by jury.

There should be national regulations and oversight to ensure competent death investigations in forensic science. There are many flaws in the ways that crimes are solved, I believe that there is a lot of corruption in that as well due to the lack of rules and structure. I believe there should be more oversight so that bias and tampering of evidence and cases could be decreased or even eliminated completely. There should also be more regulations over forensic education so that us as people can depend more on the professionals as they know what they’re doing. Regulation should control the case not too much to where no one can form opinions but enough to prevent all the flaws in today’s system of investigation. Many cases have been affected due

<br>Towards the mid section of the Australian Court Hierarchy System, lies the County of District Court. The cases that this court's jurisdiction covers is very similar to those of the Supreme Court. This particular court hear appeals from the lower courts and a great majority of criminal hearings are heard in these courts. The judges appointed to hear the cases of this court are appointed by the State Parliament. The Country Court's jurisdiction is empowered to hear civil disputes in which one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or less is claimed for personal damages.

Crime scene investigation and medical examiner television shows are always interesting and exciting to watch, but what happens when you make the contents of that television show your life? Often times, the one you see doing the investigating with not only the body at the scene, but also inspecting the body of the victim in their exam room is called the Forensic Pathologist. A Forensic Pathologist is often called to the scenes where a death has occurred so that they can legally gather information and observations so that they can proceed with the investigation. For example, they will try to find the time of death. It is very important that the forensic pathologist be contacted very early on in the investigation, due to the amount of evidence that needs to be overlooked. Forensic pathologists are educated as physicians, and are also licensed for the practice of medicine. Regional tests are given, which means that if you decide to move at any time after taking the regional test, you will be required to take it again if you move to a new state. Autopsies are a daily occurrence, and the goal of the forensic pathologist is to recreate the series of events that led up to the death of the victim.

This paper discusses the different roles that are taken on by a forensic psychologist, and how those roles interact and affect each other and how the psychologist is about to do his/her job. It looks briefly at the history of the field. We discuss the forensic psychologist as the consultant, the therapist, the researcher, as well as the expert witness. This paper also discusses predicting dangerousness and whether or not an expert can predict dangerousness. Finally we look at conflicting roles and ethics in the field.

On April 05, 2016 at approximately 1518 hours, I was dispatch to 2004 Pine Street in reference to a death investigation. Upon my arrival, I met with Detective Campbell who was the lead Investigator at the scene. Detective Campbell stated that the victim neighbors reported a strong smell coming from the victim’s (Cortiz Lazarz) residence. The neighbors called 911 and Officer Volk was the first responded officer on scene. Defective Campbell and officer Volk stated that the victim located on the living room floor, fazing the south from the residence. Detective Campbell requested I process the scene for evidence and documentation.