As a technicality, the coroner is the original administrative law officer.
He makes a determination as to the cause of death, following an inquiry
by the police and by his own office. Evidence from the autopsy is
considered but the coroner isn't the one who performs it. There's no
reason for a coroner to be a medical doctor or even a specialist in
a relevant field.
If the sheriff is corrupt, the coroner gets to arrest him and assume
the office.
Cause of death is either accident (death by misadventure in the UK), homicide
(death caused by another human being but not necessary by someone who can
be prosecuted), or suicide. I guess there can be a finding of undetermined.
If everything else is ruled out, then there can be a finding of death
by natural causes.
By the way, "medical examiner" is a term without meaning, except if
the official title of the public office in that county is "office of
the medical examiner". The term is mostly informal. It does not imply
that the office is held by an M.D., let alone a professional qualified
to perform an autopsy. Similarly, "medical examination" has no technical
definition in forensic science nor medicine. It's "autopsy" or "necropsy",
and don't ask me why there are two words for the same thing.
The relevant medical subspecialty qualified to perform an autopsy
is forensic pathologist. In lots of counties, though, autopsies are
performed by a pathologist at the closest hospital. They are trained in
looking for evidence of disease in tissue samples but not in obtaining
non-medically relevant but legally relevant trace evidence from the
body. In some counties, there is a legal requirement that the office be
held by a forensic pathologist, but then, they still might call the office
"coroner" or "medical examiner" instead of "chief forensic pathologist".
The legal situation on Quincy was strange. Astin performed autopsies
in addition to his administrative duties and yelling at Quincy. The
finding was made at autopsy and not after an inquest. If there's no
inquest, then there's no coroner.
Except... there were a number of episodes that were even more dramatic
than usual, allowing Jack Klugman to chew scenary at an inquest. Astin
presided.
It's my understanding that your county either holds inquests or it doesn't.
I don't understand why there'd be a situation in which inquests are held
on an optional basis, but otherwise, the finding is made when the
autopsy is complete and the doctor signs the report.
In my state, inquests (and the coroner along with it) are abolished on a
county-by-county basis. Cook County abolished the coroner a long time ago.
The office must be held by a forensic pathologist. In a neighboring county,
there's still an elected coroner contracting out autopsies to a hospital.
Elsewhere in the state, a few counties have a medical examiner. I guess
that means they abolished inquests but the office holder isn't a doctor.
On a county-by-county basis, the office may be elected or appointed.
>And there's the Murder She Wrote concept of an amazing number of
>killings in a small town :D
Hahahahahaha