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A medical examiner (ME) is an alternative name for coroner in the US. However, a coroner is not always a medical examiner. In order for a person to be qualified as a medical examiner, he or she must have an M.D., and be licensed as a pathologist.

The pathologist studies disease through examination of tissue, organs, body fluids, and cells. In the case of the medical examiner, this ordinarily takes place after a patient has died. In this case, both a coroner and a medical examiner may be licensed to determine cause of death. In cases of violence, where a crime must be established, but has not caused a death, a medical examiner may assist in rape examinations, analysis of blood, analysis of DNA evidence, and thorough examination of the body to document injury.

Usually we are used to seeing a medical examiner in a court setting, where he or she can describe cause of death or establish DNA evidence. When information about a person who is deceased must be acquired, the medical examiner gets information by conducting the above studies. It should be noted that while most people assume the medical examiner spends most of her or her time doing autopsies, most medical examiners really only spend about 10% of their time doing this. This doesn’t stop the media from portraying a medical examiner as always occupied with autopsies, as in shows like the CSI franchise or Crossing Jordan.

The medical examiner usually specializes in autopsy pathology, but licensed assistants and not the actual medical examiner may perform much of an autopsy. Any relevant details will be studied in depth, though, so the medical examiner can appear in court. In high profile crime cases, you can see that the medical examiner may not only be a state licensed employee, but that there are also private medical examiners. Where anyone must put forward a defense, the testimony of a private medical examiner for the defense can be helpful in refuting testimony given by the state medical examiner.

While coroners do not need the same education as the medical examiner, they may need a degree in law, in most cases, making them helpful during witness testimony. In recent years, there has been a significant move toward replacing the traditional coroner with the medical examiner in many states. In some cities, job requirements may include not only licensing in pathology, but also a law school education. This is quite a huge requirement, representing about eleven years of college work and internships, for jobs that will generally not pay as well as those in the private sector.

What is a Coroner?

A coroner is an official who presides over the handling of dead bodies. In different nations, the meaning of the office is different, and the coroner has different areas of responsibility and authority. In most cases, the coroner handles administrative tasks which relate to the deceased, such as collecting bodies, identifying them, determining cause of death, granting exhumation requests, testifying in court, and releasing bodies to their families. In most cases, a coroner acts as a medical examiner, performing an autopsy on the body to determine how and when the person died. In other nations, the coroner is actually an officer of the court who manages the inquest, or court investigation, into the death.

In the case of a coroner who acts as a medical examiner, which is the most common example, all deaths must be reported to the coroner, who will investigate the death if it is suspicious. In general, any death which takes place outside of a hospital is considered suspicious. A coroner or representative of the coroner's office picks up decedents from the site where they are discovered and brings them back to the coroner's office for examination. The coroner determines the time and cause of death, and issues a formal death certificate and autopsy report. If the death is found to be a murder, the information gathered by the coroner will serve as evidence in the case.

When a coroner serves as a court officer, he or she presides over a court hearing which determines the cause of death and what action should be taken, if any. At the hearing, evidence will be presented by a medical examiner, along with witnesses and other relevant speakers. The inquest attempts to determine who the deceased was, how he or she died, and whether or not foul play was involved. If the inquest determines that the death was a murder, other law enforcement officials take over, launching an investigation to track down the murderer. In England, due to an archaic law, the coroner also handles reports of treasure, determining who the reward for the treasure goes to, as all found treasure belongs, by right, to the Crown.

Training to become a coroner has different requirements, depending on where he or she serves. If a coroner is acting as a court officer, qualification as a lawyer may be required. A coroner who works as a medical examiner must attend medical school. Other supplemental training may be required, and the training may be different for coroner's assistants, who are trained to collect and process evidence.

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