218 
, V 
C O R O N E R. 
of the counties fhall be chofen in the full counties of the 
moll lawful people that (hall be.found in the lame coun¬ 
ties, to execute the laid office ; faved always to the king, 
and other lords, who ought to make luch coroners, 
their feig'niors andfranehifes.” The oaths of allegiance, 
fupremacy, and abjuration, are to be taken, and then the 
oaths of office ; when the coroner is elected, and fwofn 
into his office, lie is to remember the qualification-acts, 
and in due time to take the facrament and oaths of ab¬ 
juration. In the cafe of election by freeholders, where 
the majority cannot be determined by the view, upon 
the holding up of hands, the IherifF, upon the demand 
of a poll to be taken of the numbers, cannot deny it; 
nor ought he to deny a fcrutiny into the polls, when 
properly required, upon a fuggeltion that non-freeholders 
have polled. It is an election at common law ; and this 
fcrutiny is as incident to enquire into the polls, as num¬ 
bering of the polls is incident to the holding up of hands ; 
nor caii the juft majority be otherwife duly difcovered or 
declared, r Vent. 20 6. 2 Lev. 50. 
The coroner is chofen for life ; but may be removed, 
by either being made fheriff, or chofen verderor, which 
are offices incompatible with the other; or by the king’s 
writ de coronatore exonerando , for a caufe to be therein al- 
figned ; as, that he is engaged in other bufinefs, is.inca- 
pacited by years or figknefs, hath not a lufficient eftate 
in the county, or lives in an inconvenient part of it. 
And, by 25 Geo. II. c. 29. extortion, negleCt, or mifbe- 
haviour, are alfo made caufes of removal. 
There are fpecial coroners, within divers liberties, as 
well as the ordinary officers in every county ; as the co¬ 
roner of the verge, which is a certain compals about the 
king’s court; wllo isiijcewife called coroner ot the king’s 
houfehold. Cromp. Jurif. 102. The king’s coroner fhall 
execute his office within the verge. 32 Hen. VIII. c. 20. 
Some corporations and colleges are licenfed by charter 
to appoint their coroners within their own precincts ; 
and for what arifes on tire high lea, coroners are ap¬ 
pointed by the king or his admiral. 2 Halt's Hijl. P. C. 53. 
It is laid coroners are of three kinds : 1. By virtue of an 
office. 2. By charter or commillion. 3. By election. 
1. The chief juftice of the court of king’s-bench. 2. The 
lord mayor of London is, by charter, 18 Edw. IV. coro¬ 
ner of London. The bilhop of Ely alio hath power to 
make corincrs, by a charter of Hen. VII. and there are 
coroners of particular lords of franchifes and liberties 
who by charter have power to create their own coro¬ 
ners, or to be coroners themfelves, efpecially the jurif- 
diction of the admiralty, as- well as that of the verge 
above referred "to. 3. The general coroners of counties, 
Sec. The coroner of Portl’mouth has jurifdiction on¬ 
board a man of war lying in Portfmouth harbour; tor, 
though the admiralty have a coroner of their own, he 
never takes inquilitions oifelo defe. Stra. 1097. And?-. 231. 
Pile office of coroners efpecially concerns the pleas 
of the crown ; and they are conferVators of the peace in 
tiie county where generally elected. Their authority is 
judicial and minifterial; judicial, where one comes to a 
violent death, and to take and enter appeals of murder, 
pronounce judgment upon outlawries, &c. and to enquire 
of lands and goods, and efcapes of murderers, treafure- 
trove, wreck of the fea, deodands, &c. The minifterial 
power is where the coroners execute the king’s writs, on 
exception to the llieriff, as by his being party to a fuit, 
kin to either of the parties, on default of the fheriff, Si c. 
1 Plozud. 73. And the authority of coroners does not de¬ 
termine by the demife of the king. 2 Lift. 174. 
Where coroners are impowered to act as judges, as in 
taking an inquilition of death, or receiving an appeal of 
felony, the aCt of one of them is of the fame force as if they 
had all joined; but, after one of them has proceeded to aCt, 
the 'ail of another of them will be void : and where they 
are authoril'ed to act only minifterially, in the execution 
of a procefs directed to them upon the incapacity of the 
fheriff, their acts are void, if they do not all join. 2 Hawk. 
P. C. c. 9. So that coroners as minifters mull all join ; 
but as judges they may divide. But two coroners ought 
to be judges in re-diffeifin; and though one ferves to 
pronounce an outlawry, the entry ought to be in the 
name of all of them: and fo of all proceffes'directed to 
‘ the coroners. Jen/i . Cent. 85. If the fheriff is either plain¬ 
tiff or defendant, or one of the cognifees, the writ mud 
be directed to the coroner. Cro. Car. 300. But the coro¬ 
ner is not the officer of the king’s-bench, but where the 
fheriff is improper; nor where there is no fheriff; for if 
the llieriff die, the coroner cannot execute a writ. In 
cafe of two coroners, if one is challenged, the other may 
execute the writ, yet both make but one officer: it is 
the Lame with the two lheriffs of London. 1 Salk. 144. 
A venire facias fhall go to the coroner, where the fheriff 
is a party, or the defendant is a fervant to the ffiefiff; 
but it ought to be on a principal challenge to the favour. 
Moor 470. On defaults of lheriffs, coroners are to im¬ 
panel juries, and return iffues on juries not appearing, 
Sec. As the fheriff in his torn might enquire of all felo¬ 
nies by the common law, faving the deatli of a man ; fo 
the coroner can enquire of no felony but of the death of 
a perfon, and that fuper vifwn corporis. 4 Injl. 271. But 
in Northumberland the coroner, by cuftom, may enquire 
of other felonies. 35 Hen. VI. c. 27. But without cuf¬ 
tom no coroner is authorifed to take any other inquilition 
than On death. 2 Hale 65. By Magna Charta, c. 17. no 
fheriff or coroner fhall hold pleas of the Crown : but, by 
Weflffl. 1. 3 Edw. I. c. id. it is enabled, that the coro¬ 
ners fhall lawfully attach and prefent pleas of the crown; 
and that. lheriffs fhall have counter-rolls with the coro¬ 
ners, as well of appeals as of inqueft. Coroners, before 
the Magna Charta, might not only receive accufations 
againft offenders, but might try them; but, fince that 
ftatute, they cannot proceed fo far ; and appeals before 
them are removeable into the court of king’s-bench by 
certiorari, directed to the coroners and fheritfs. Though 
procefs may be awarded by the fheriff and coroner, or the 
coroner only, in the county-court .011 appeals, till the 
exigent, See. 2 Hawk. P. C. c. 9. 
By de officio coronatoris, 4 Edw. I. flat. 2. the coroner is 
to go to the place where any perfon is flain or fuddeniy 
dead, and fhall, by his warrant to the bailiffs, conftabies, 
&c. fummon a jury out of the four or five neighbouring 
towns, to make enquiry upon view of the body ; and the 
coroner and jury are to enquire into the manner of kill¬ 
ing, and all circumftances that occafion'ed the party’s 
death ; who were prefent, whether the deadv perfon wag 
known, where he lay the night before, &c. Examine 
the body, if there be any figns of ftrangling about the 
neck, or of cords about the members. Alfo all wounds 
ought to be viewed, and enquiry made with what wea¬ 
pons. And the coroner may lend his warrant for vvit- 
neffes; and take their examination in writing; and if any 
appear guilty of the murder, he fhall enquire what goods 
and lands he hath ; and then the dead body is to be 
buried. A coroner may likewife commit the perfon to 
prifon who is by his inquifition found guilty of the mur¬ 
der ; and the witneffes are to be bound by recognizance 
to appear at the next aliizes. When the jury have 
brought in their verdiCt, the coroner is to inrol and re¬ 
turn the inquifition, whether it be brought in murder, 
manflaughter, &c. to the juftices of the next jail-de¬ 
livery of the county, or certify it into the court of 
king’s-bench, where the murderers fhall be proceeded 
againft. 2 Rol. Abr. 32. Upon an inquifition taken before 
the coroner, he mud put into writing the effect of the 
evidence given to the jury before him; and bind them 
to appear, which is to be certified to the court with the 
inquifition ; and neglecting it, the coroner fhall be fined. 
1 & 2 P. Sc M. c. 13. 
The word murdravit is not neceffary in a coroner’s in¬ 
quifition ; though it is in an indictment for killing an¬ 
other perfon. 1 Salk. 377. It is not neceffary that the 
inquifition be taken in the place where the body vs as- 
viewed. 
