The Weymouth Inquest There has been almost universal agreement among
those best qualified to judge that the procedure adopted in the Coroner's Court at the Weymouth inquest was wholly improper and calculated to defeat the ends of Justice. The proper function of a Coroner's Court is to ascertain the cause of death, and no more ; and in cases of a murder charge an inquest is generally Postponed to prevent any prejudice that it might create. But at Weymouth the Coroner allowed his Court to assume the character of a Court of Justice. The police became, in effect, the prosecutors. Lawyers on both sides were allowed to address the jury—though this practice is contrary to the general custom. A. Coroner's Court is a Iaw unto itself. It is not bound by the rules of procedure of a properly constituted court of law, nor is the Coroner, who is often a local solicitor, necessarily equipped with the training requisite for the conduct of a trial. A new and clear definition of the Coroner's functions is called for.
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