Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology | Page 4

premises have been provided.
The duties of the coroner are based partly on Common Law, and are
also defined by statute, principally by the Coroners Act of 1887 (50 and
51 Vict. c. 71). They have been modified, however, by subsequent
Acts--e.g., the Act of 1892, the Coroners (Emergency Provisions) Act,
1917, and the Juries Act of 1918.
The fee payable to a medical witness for giving evidence at an inquest
is one guinea, with an extra guinea for making a post-mortem
examination and report (in the metropolitan area these fees are
doubled). The coroner must sign the order authorizing the payment, and
should an inquest be adjourned to a later day, no further fee is payable.
If the deceased died in a hospital, infirmary, or lunatic asylum, the
medical witness is not paid any fee. Should a medical witness neglect
to make the post-mortem examination after receiving the order to do so,
he is liable to a fine of £5.
In Scotland the Procurator Fiscal fulfils many of the duties of the
coroner, but he cannot hold a public inquiry. He interrogates the
witnesses privately, and these questions with the answers form the
precognition. More serious cases are dealt with by the Sheriff of each
county, and capital charges must be dealt with by the High Court of
Justiciary. In Scotland the verdicts of the jury may be 'guilty,' 'not
guilty,' or 'not proven.'
2. =The Magistrate's Court or Petty Sessions= is also a court of
preliminary inquiry. The prisoner may be dealt with summarily, as, for
example, in minor assault cases, or, if the case is of sufficient gravity,
and the evidence justifies such a course, may be committed for trial.
The fee for a medical witness who resides within three miles of the

court is ten shillings and sixpence; if at a greater distance, one guinea.
In the Metropolis the prisoner in the first instance is brought before a
magistrate, technically known as the 'beak,' who, in addition to being a
person of great acumen, is a stipendiary, and thus occupies a superior
position to the ordinary 'J.P.,' who is one of the great unpaid. In the
City of London is the Mansion House Justice-Room, presided over by
the Lord Mayor or one of the Aldermen. The prisoner may ultimately
be sent for trial to the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey,
or elsewhere.
3. =Quarter Sessions.=--These are held every quarter by Justices of the
Peace. All cases can be tried before the sessions except felonies or
cases which involve difficult legal questions. In London this court is
known as the Central Criminal Court, and it also acts as the Assize
Court. In Borough Sessions a barrister known as the Recorder is
appointed as sole judge.
4. =The Assizes= deal with both criminal and civil cases. There is the
Crown Court, where criminal cases are tried, and there is the Civil
Court, where civil cases are heard. Before a case sent up by a lower
court can be tried by the judge and petty jury, it is investigated by the
grand jury, which is composed of superior individuals. If they find a
'true bill,' the case goes on; but if they 'throw it out,' the accused is at
liberty to take his departure. At the Court of Assize the prisoner is tried
by a jury of twelve. In bringing in the verdict the jury must be
unanimous. If they cannot agree, the case must be retried before a new
jury. At the Assize Court the medical witness gets a guinea a day, with
two shillings extra to pay for his bed and board for every night he is
away from home, with his second-class railway fare, if there is a
second class on the railway by which he travels. If there is no railway,
and he has to walk, he is entitled to threepence a mile for refreshments
both ways.
5. =Court of Criminal Appeal.=--This was established in 1908, and
consists of three judges. A right of appeal may be based (1) solely on a
question of law; (2) on certificate from the judge who tried the prisoner;
(3) on mitigation of sentence.

Speaking generally, in the Superior Courts the fees which may be
claimed by medical men called on to give evidence are a guinea a day
if resident in the town in which the case is tried, and from two to three
guineas a day if resident at a distance from the place of trial, this to
include everything except travelling expenses. The medical witness
also receives a reasonable allowance for hotel and travelling expenses.
If a witness is summoned to appear before two courts at the same time,
he must obey the summons of the higher court. Criminal cases take
precedence of civil.
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