Abstract
During half a century in Forensic Medicine, I have, fortunately, only been asked to attend a Coroner's Court on half a dozen occasions! I have always found coroners very understanding, very considerate and sympathetic and very rarely hostile or difficult.
The author of this excellent (if pricey) volume is a lawyer, deputy coroner and a member of the Law Society's personal injury panel, so he is well qualified to survey the developments that will occur consequent upon the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
The creation of a Chief Coroner, a new system of death certification (long overdue) and new powers for coroners to secure information and evidence, and sometimes to hold private inquests, are applauded.
One development covered widely by the national press has been the appointment of High Court Judges to become acting deputy coroners for what might be called high-profile cases. The Stockwell shooting and the death of Princess Diana are examples of this tendency to override the established coroner, often a man or woman qualified in both medicine and law. I have yet to be convinced that this change was necessary or justified.
The bereaved do need special consideration and the appointment of medical advisers (apart from forensic pathologists) seems to me to be an invaluable change.
In the past many coronial decisions have been referred to the Divisional Court and a few coroners became serial offenders – chiefly because of their stubbornness and somewhat inflated egos!
I suppose the Shipman drama and Dame Janet's Report brought many forensic professionals to their senses and may have contributed to the up-and-coming legislation. We now live in a climate of change. As one distinguished Governor of the Bank of England said, “All change is bad – even change for the better!” We shall wait and see.
I recommend this useful volume to all forensic practitioners and to all those who have to comfort the bereaved – always a challenge for police officers, doctors and clergymen especially when the deceased is a child. I feel confident this book will be an invaluable tool for the frontline professionals in legal and medical circles in all jurisdictions. I wish it every success.