NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: CSI, This Ain’t
The Philadelphia Daily News notes that coroners in PA “are legally charged with investigating all violent, accidental, sudden and suspicious deaths” by performing autopsies, examining death scenes, performing toxicology tests, interviewing witnesses, and ordering inquests, among other tasks, so that they can detect emerging epidemics, the handiwork of a serial killer and the difference between death by homicide, suicide or accident: You would be wrong. The only prerequisite to be a county coroner in Pennsylvania is to be a registered voter. That's because in 64 of the state's 67 counties, it's an elected position. (Philadelphia, Allegheny and Delaware counties appoint medical examiners, who are board-certified forensic pathologists.) … [T]here is a coroner who's a garbage hauler and former supermarket shelf-stocker (Huntingdon County's Ronald Morder). Another is an electrician (Juniata County's Lee Snyder). Others include a former unemployed steel worker (Cambria County's Dennis Kwiatkowski), former craft-store owner (Adams County's Patricia Felix), former machinist (Cameron County's Ted Walters) and former business-form printer (Bedford County's Sam Gordon). To be fair, all of the above worked as emergency medical technicians or paramedics before becoming coroners. And many logged time working in their county coroner's offices before running for the top post. But while nearly a quarter of the 64 county coroners have experience as emergency medical responders, only 13 are doctors or nurses. And most of those did not train in forensic pathology; rather, they are family physicians, a podiatrist, a pulmonologist, a radiologist, nurses and an HIV counselor. Other coroners came from law enforcement or the mortuary business: Ten are retired cops, and 29 are funeral directors or employees. … [I]n February, the National Academy of Sciences recommended that Congress increase funding so that states could replace coroners with medical examiners. Academy researchers further stated that "medicolegal" autopsies should be performed only by board-certified forensic pathologists. [Hat Tip: The Heel, an Ivy-educated attorney with a prestigious New York firm, and occasional contributor to this blog.]
You would think such duties would require the most stringent of credentials.
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