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Inquest
An '''inquest''' is a judicial investigation, usually by a group of court-appointed people (jury), in common law jurisdictions. The most common kind of inquest is an inquiry including a medical examination by a coroner into the cause of a death that was sudden, violent, suspicious, or occurred in prison. ''Inquest'' can also mean such a jury and the result of such an investigation. In general usage, ''inquest'' is also used to mean any investigation or inquiry.
An inquest uses witnesses, but suspects are not permitted to defend themselves. The verdict can be, for example, natural death, accidental death, suicide, or murder. If the verdict is murder or culpable accident, criminal prosecution may follow, and suspects are of course able to defend themselves there.
Since juries are not used in most European civil law (legal system)|civil law systems, these do not have any (jury) procedure similar to an inquest, but medical evidence and professional witnesses have been used in court in continental Europe for centuries.http://www.bartleby.com/61/71/I0157100.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/in/inquest.html[Anon. (2001) "Inquest", ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', Deluxe CDROM edition]
History
The '''inquest''', as a means of settling a matter of fact, developed in Scandinavia and the Carolingian Empire before the end of the tenth century.By jurisdiction
- Inquest (England and Wales)|England and Wales
- Scotland - Fatal accident inquiry
Cultural references
- ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' was a long-running Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC drama featuring the Vancouver coroner.
References
Category:Common law
Category:Civil procedure
Category:Legal terms
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