Request By:
Mr. Michael L. Allen
Attorney at Law
1100 Legal Arts Building
200 S. Seventh Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
On March, 1980, a Jefferson County coroner's inquest was convened to determine the manner of death of a certain individual, whose estate, family and corporation your office represents. After a lengthy evidentiary hearing, the six-person coroner's jury ruled by a five-to-one majority that the deceased's death was a result of suicide, rather than homicide. You concluded that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence presented. You were surprised to find no explicit appellate procedure.
Question No. 1:
"Does an appeal lie from the decision of a coroner's jury at a properly constituted legal inquest? "
A coroner's inquest can only arise where the coroner exercises his jurisdiction in a coroner's case. A "coroner's case" is defined as a case in which the coroner has reasonable cause for believing that the death of a human being within his county was caused by homicide, crime, violence, accident, suicide, poison, drowning, illegal abortion, or unusual circumstances. KRS 72.405(2). See also KRS 72.020. An "inquest" is defined as an examination ordered by the coroner, generally, into the causes and circumstances of any death, which is a coroner's case, by a jury of six residents of the county impaneled and selected by the coroner to assist him in ascertaining the cause and manner of death. KRS 72.405(3).
KRS 72.420 reads:
"(1) A coroner may, in his sound discretion, order an inquest in any coroner's case. The inquest shall be conducted by a coroner's jury consisting of six (6) reputable citizens of the county selected and sworn by the coroner. The coroner may issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum. No subpoenaed witness shall fail to appear as ordered. Application may be made by the coroner to the circuit court for punishment by contempt for failure to obey a coroner's subpoena.
(2) The coroner may employ stenographic services to record the proceeding. Payment for stenographic services shall be made by the fiscal court or urban-county government, whichever is appropriate, upon certification by the coroner that the services were rendered.
(3) In the event the jury returns a verdict of murder, manslaughter, or other criminal act, the coroner shall arrest the named individual or notify the appropriate law enforcement authority to arrest such individual to be dealt with according to law. A copy of the verdict shall be filed with the appropriate circuit court clerk. "
There is nothing in the coroner's act of 1978 [KRS 72.400 to 72.470] suggesting that the coroner's jury verdict is anything other than an informational report or conclusion filed in the circuit court clerk's office for the benefit of law enforcement officials. It is not an order or rule. It is not binding on anyone. The hearing is not an adversary proceeding. This is wholly consistent with the principle that the function of the coroner has always been to aid in the administration of criminal justice by inquiring into the circumstances of violent or suspicious deaths; and the object of an inquest has been to obtain information as to whether death was caused by some criminal act. City of Ashland v. Miller, Ky., 283 S.W.2d 195 (1955) 196. The coroner's jury is selected and sworn by the coroner. They in effect must take an oath to carry out their statutory duty of examining into the causes and circumstances of the particular death and reach a verdict [a conclusion], based upon the evidence made available to them.
The verdict of a coroner's jury is merely advisory to law enforcement officials; and it has no legal effect, as such. However, where the jury returns a verdict of murder, manslaughter, or other criminal act, the coroner must arrest the named individual or notify the appropriate law enforcement authority to make the arrest.
Even though an earlier statute, KRS 72.060 [repealed], provided that the testimony given at the inquest must be filed in the clerk's office, KRS 72.420 provides that a copy of the verdict shall be filed in the circuit clerk's office. The statute is silent as to the testimony. The court, in Poyner v. Commonwealth, 274 Ky. 813, 120 S.W.2d 619 (1938) 651, observed that the old statute did not require that testimony taken at the inquest be turned over to the grand jury, or furnished an accused.
We conclude that there is no statutory provision for an appeal from a coroner's verdict. We also conclude that there is no constitutional basis for such an appeal, since the verdict is not binding on anyone and has no legal effect, as such, except where arrest is authorized for the named criminal suspect under KRS 72.420(3). It is of an informational and advisory nature for the benefit of law enforcement officials. While the old Court of Appeals has held that an appeal may be taken from an administrative action where arbitrary action is claimed, even in the absence of a statutory provision granting appeal, that has no application to a coroner's verdict, since it does not involve an administrative or adversary proceeding. See Pritchett v. Marshall, Ky., 375 S.W.2d 253 (1964), and Sec. 2, Kentucky Constitution. While the court pointed out in Pritchett that Section 2 of the Constitution embraces due process, fundamental fairness, and impartiality, an inquest is not an adversary or due process hearing. No rule is established. No specific and binding action to be applied to an individual is taken. The court, in American Beauty Homes Corp. v. Louisville, Etc., Ky., 379 S.W.2d 450 (1964) 456, observed that "Basically, judicial review of administrative action is concerned with the question of arbitrariness. On this ground the courts will assume jurisdiction even in the absence of statutory authorization of an appeal." But a coroner's verdict contains no order or rule of conduct.
Your second question assumes an appellate procedure exists. Thus our answer to question No. 1 makes No. 2 academic.
Question No. 3:
"If no appeallate procedure exists, is there any other avenue for review, re-hearing, or reconsideration, before any forum whatsoever?"
As we said before, the coroner's verdict is merely an advisory conclusion as to the causes and circumstances of any death. There is simply nothing to appeal from. We are not aware of any legal procedure whereby the verdict can be reviewed, or reconsidered. We know of no provisions for a rehearing of the inquest.
Suppose, as is the case here, that the coroner's jury verdict spells out suicide, or any cause other than a crime, one must not forget that the law enforcement officials and the judges of the trial courts are required to screen out complaints involving alleged crimes, and process them accordingly, regardless of what a coroner's jury may have concluded. See RCr 2.02 and 2.04.