Editorial: Is getting the most votes the best measure of a coroner?
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The coroner’s office in a Pennsylvania county is where the justice system and public health collide.
Coroners are responsible for investigating the deaths that aren’t from an acknowledged and medically attended reason. They determine whether someone died of an overdose. They have been an important part of evaluating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. They note when a death is the result of an accident.
And, yes, they are the arbiters of whether a death was due to homicide.
The importance of the role makes it a little surprising that there aren’t more requirements for it. In most counties, coroners are elected officials, like county commissioners or school board members. The requirement for the job is getting the most votes — and being 18 and a resident of the county in question.
There is a 32-hour basic education course for new coroners. After that, there are eight hours of continuing education each year.
A forensic pathologist, on the other hand, has a minimum of 13 years of post-secondary education: college, medical school, residency, an additional year of residency specifically in forensic pathology. Only then can they take the test that allows them to testify in court that they are board certified in their field.
Only five counties — including Allegheny County — appoint a coroner or medical examiner.
A Spotlight PA investigation shows there are only five accredited coroner or medical examiner offices out of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Most coroners come to the job not from the medical or legal field but from the funeral home industry.
So is electing a coroner the way to go? And if so, should there be more hurdles to getting the job?
We elect judges and district attorneys who also have jobs with specific demands. But to run for DA or to get a seat on a court, you must have been admitted to practice law.
Why isn’t the same true of coroners rather than just having a post-election class in the basics that is less than the equivalent of one standard three-credit college course?
This is something state lawmakers should consider. Maybe rather than requiring an expert in forensic pathology, the requirement could be one of expertise in either the law side or the medical side of the job. Maybe it could just be about requiring better minimum accreditation.
Might changing the requirements impact the number of people who run for coroner? Perhaps. But making allowances for existing coroners and applying changed demands to the newly elected could ease that transition.
However, the responsibility shouldn’t skew to those in the running to get the job but toward the people served by the office.