Coroner's Court

If there is going to be an inquest after a person's death, it should take place within six months. However, each inquest will be carried out by a local coroner and, as such, the process may be subject to delays in different parts of the country. The specialist team at JMW Solicitors can let you know what to expect as the inquest process unfolds and make sure you understand what is happening and how long it might take.

Before inquest hearings take place, or while the process is underway, the police might charge someone with causing the person's death. In these cases, the inquest is normally postponed whilst the evidence is heard and examined by the criminal courts. At the conclusion of the criminal case, the coroner will look at the matter again and may decide that there is no need to continue with the inquest. Alternatively, the coroner may wish to resume the inquest but will normally do so in accordance with the findings of fact in the criminal matter. JMW can advise on the implications of criminal proceedings in the inquest process and can make representations to the coroner.

At the end of the inquest process, the coroner decides on a ruling as to how the death occurred. Any of the following outcomes may be chosen:

• Natural causes 
• Accident 
• Unlawful or lawful killing 
• Suicide 
• Industrial disease

Alternatively, the coroner might reach an open verdict, which means that there is not enough evidence to make a ruling. These cases will be left open in case further evidence should later come to light.

If you are a witness, interested party or someone who may need to attend for another reason, you should be notified about an upcoming inquest at least 14 days before it takes place. This will give you time to seek legal advice and secure inquest representation. It can also enable you to review the evidence that will be used during the process. However, very short notice is sometimes given and JMW can advise on whether there should be an application to adjourn. Alternatively, JMW can help ensure representations and other matters are properly considered on a client’s behalf in the event that an adjournment is not an option.

Interested parties to an inquest have the right to request any documents or evidence held by the coroner. In turn, the coroner must disclose any documents they consider relevant to the process, and you can also submit evidence of your own if you believe it is relevant to the inquest but has not been requested. 

Your legal team can manage this process on your behalf and can gather or review the evidence for you. This can be helpful not only in terms of your solicitor's knowledge of coronial law. This evidence can contain distressing details about the circumstances of someone's death, and your solicitor can help you deal with the burden of having to consider sensitive facts.

Certain parties can request to adjourn the inquest for one of a number of legally valid reasons. Some reasons why an adjournment may be legitimately granted (or implemented by the coroner themselves) include:

• You wish to submit further written evidence that the coroner agrees is needed
• You think the scope of the inquest should change and the coroner agrees
• Evidence that is going to be used was provided too late to review it properly
• You were not given enough time to choose a lawyer or seek legal advice
• You did not have enough time to apply for Legal Aid funding (if available)
• The coroner wants to call certain experts (such as a particular medical professional) or witnesses
• The coroner requires further investigations or enquiries to be carried out

Experienced inquest solicitors can advise you on managing the timeline for an inquest and help to request an adjournment if there are legal grounds to do so.

A pre-inquest review or pre-inquest hearing may be held if an inquest is expected to be complicated or involves quite a few interested parties. It is a type of administrative hearing that allows the coroner to make practical arrangements about the inquest. The coroner may set directions obliging interested persons or witnesses to provide additional evidence by a particular date, or the coroner may invite additional written argument in relation to matters of law. JMW can help manage this process and make the appropriate representations.

All of the interested persons (or their representatives) will usually attend. Some review hearings can take a few minutes, whilst others can take an hour or more.