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Simple English definitions for legal terms
inquest
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A quick definition of inquest:
An inquest is a type of investigation that happens when someone dies in a mysterious or suspicious way. A group of people called a coroner and/or jury try to figure out how the person died, like if it was an accident or if someone hurt them on purpose. If they find out that someone did something wrong, that person might get in trouble with the law. Sometimes, an inquest can also happen for other reasons, like if a group of people need to investigate something important. A long time ago, kings used inquests to learn about their people and make important decisions. Today, coroners still use inquests to investigate deaths and figure out what happened.
A more thorough explanation:
An inquest is a type of judicial inquiry that investigates the cause of death of an individual who died under suspicious or mysterious circumstances. It is usually conducted by a coroner and/or jury, and the result of the inquest determines the type of death involved, such as natural, suicide, murder, or accidental. If culpability is found to have contributed to the individual's death, a criminal prosecution may follow.
However, an inquest can also refer to a body of jurors summoned to investigate certain circumstances, such as an individual's mental condition. A grand jury is sometimes known as a grand inquest.
The inquest system originated in medieval Europe, where kings used it to maintain their power and authority throughout their domains. They would bring together various peoples from throughout the regions of their empire and deliberate with them to learn what they felt to be the most important rights. Once these kings determined which rights were considered, the local governments throughout the empire adopted and established these rights.
When William of Normandy invaded England in 1066, he used an inquest to obtain information about the people living in England, which he then used to write the Domesday Book, a census that recorded land ownership throughout England.
The coroner office was established during the Middle Ages, and the coroner was a government official who compiled records of accusations, government transactions, public financial matters, and decisions from lower courts. The coroner also had the power to hold inquests to investigate mysterious deaths. Today, coroners still use the inquest procedure for investigating deaths.
Examples of inquests include investigating the cause of death of a person who died in prison or under suspicious circumstances, or investigating an individual's mental condition in a court case.
These examples illustrate how an inquest is a type of judicial inquiry that investigates specific circumstances to determine the cause of an event or situation.