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About the Coroner Service

A Coroner is an independent judicial office holder who is required by law to investigate deaths that are unnatural or violent, where the cause of death is unknown, or where the deceased died in custody or otherwise in state detention, or if the death requires investigation for some other reason.

Coroners have qualifications and substantial experience as a solicitor, barrister or CILEX. Coroners are appointed as judges on behalf of the Crown. Coroners are completely independent of, and are not employed by, the Local Authority. However local Councils have a statutory duty to fund the local Coroner Court Service.

The role of the Coroner

Coroners investigate deaths to find out who died and how, when, and where they died. This includes determining the medical cause of a person’s death.  The Coroner will investigate each case referred to them in an appropriate way, which may be as simple as consulting with the doctor who last treated the deceased, or authorising a post mortem examination.  

If a natural cause of death is established the Coroner’s investigation may then end, but in many cases the final stage of the Coroner investigation will be holding an Inquest, which is a public judicial inquiry into a death.

The Coroner’s Inquest may explore, uncover and/or record shortcomings by others that have led to a death, but a Coroner cannot find that any individual or organisation is legally liable for a death. Where relevant, that will be something the criminal or civil courts must decide. 

When a Coroner receives notification that a body is lying within their Coroner area, they will carry out inquiries and investigations as appropriate. Coroners have power to have a body taken to the mortuary and to retain the body for so long as is required to carry out investigations. This can include authorising a post-mortem examination in order to find out what was the medical cause of death.

The coroner will always be mindful of funeral arrangements and will try to avoid interfering with these arrangements while making sure that all appropriate investigations are properly carried out.

You will find more information about the Coroner role in the ‘Guide to Coroner Services for Bereaved People’ which is published by  the Ministry of Justice and is available here.

The role of Coroner’s Officers

The Coroner Court has a team of Coroner’s Officers who receive reports of deaths in the community, hospitals, other care settings and state detention and make appropriate inquiries as directed by the Coroner. 

Coroner’s Officers will liaise with bereaved families, witnesses, police, doctors and funeral directors.  Coroner’s Officers will be the main link between the Coroner and the bereaved at all stages of an investigation and inquest.  In Cheshire, the Coroner's Officers are employed by Cheshire Constabulary, but they all work under the direction of the Coroner.

The Coroner’s Officer allocated to your case will correspond with you and keep you informed of progress.  Even where the Coroner is considering a matter you have raised, all communication with you will be with the Coroner’s Officer because the Coroner, as a judge, will not directly correspond with any inquest participants. 

Coroner's Court Team

In Cheshire, the coroners are supported by a team of administrative staff, as well as a team of coroner’s officers. The administrative staff are employed by Warrington Borough Council and deal with general enquiries, invoicing and the running of inquests. 

Inquests

Inquest hearings are held at Cheshire Coroner’s Court located at Museum Street, Warrington, WA1 1JX.