estigate the medical circumstances of suspicious deaths, (d) protect the rights of individuals, and (e) audit the performance of the functioning of the medico-legal system and of the professionals functioning within such a system. Professionals functioning within a medico-legal system are expected to be thorough, expeditious, and impartial in the discharge of their responsibilities (Perper, Kuller, and Shim, 1993).
There are three general classifications of medico-legal systems that are differentiated primarily on the bases of the approach to the investigation of deaths. The three types are as follows (Jentzen and Ernst, 1998):
The first general classification of medico-legal systems is the medical examiner system (such as that found in the United States). This type of medico-legal system involves the determination of causes of death through the conduct of medical and scientific examinations by qualified pathologists in laboratory settings without the direct involvement of the judiciary.
The second general classification of medico-legal systems is the combination of a coroner system and a medical professional certification system (such as that found in England and Wales). In this type of medico-legal system, death investigations referred to coroners involve the conduct of medical and scientific examinations by qualified medical professionals in combination with judicial enquiries. In this type of medico-legal system, however, all deaths are not referred to coroners, in which case determinations of causes of death may be certified by qualified physicians in the absence of the scientific investigation of the circumstances surrounding deaths.
The third general classification of medico-legal systems is a law enforcement enquiry into the cause of death that may be supplemented with medical and scientific investigations conducted by qualified medical professionals when deemed appropriate and necessary by the qualified law enf...