Participaition of a forensic medical expert in inquests.

In accordance with the Russian Federation legislation, experts in the field of forensic medicine are widely recruited to participate in different inquests besides examinations. These are crime scene inspection, exhumations, corpse identifications, examination of living persons, interrogations, inquiry experiments, procurement of comparative samples, etc. Many of them have not been researched thoroughly before. To define their position among other forms and means of applying forensic medical knowledge in investigation, selective information has statistically been analyzed concerning expert participation in inquests.

The information was accumulated in 14 of all 21 District Departments of Leningrad Regional (LR) Bureau of Forensic Medical Examinations during the past three years - 1998-2000 (table 1). Medical examiners took part all in all in 3351 inquests during these three years. Among them, crime scene inspection, i.e. examinations of accident or crime places and corpse on discovery constituted the majority - 2302 (68.7 per cent of all inquests). The forensic medical inspection of corpses in respect to total forensic autopsies was 10.6%, in respect to the violent death - 19.1%, and in respect to all homicides - 77.8%. Diagram 1 demonstrates the correlation between the percentage of crime scene inspection and the total number corpse forensic medical examinations.

The proportion of all the other inquests where forensic medical specialists participated amounted to 31.3% (Diagram 2). Among them corpse identifications numbered 445 cases which made up 13.3% of all inquests with participation of medical examiners and average 23,6/1000 autopsies (Diagram 3); inquiry experiments and checks of evidence on a crime scene - 155 (4.6% and 7.0/1000 autopsies); procurement of comparative samples - 138 (4.1%); interrogation of medical examiners - 134 (4.0% and 5.9/1000 autopsies); inspection and collecting of injury objects (weapons), vehicles etc. - 99 (3.0%, 3.7/1000 autopsies and 3.3 for total living persons examinations); interrogations of suspected and defendant - 32 (1.0% of all inquests); examination of living persons - 23 (0.7%); searching (0.3%), exhumations - 11 (0.3% and 0.6/1000 autopsies).

There were investigating agencies that initiated inquests in those cases (69.4 per cent), lawyers (2.5 per cent) and medical examiners themselves (28.1 per cent). In most cases, inquiries were undertaken in the course of primary forensic medical examinations (52.3 per cent), and less often, as additional (21.8 per cent) and repeated (17.7 per cent) examinations or in court (8.2 per cent).

The statistical findings characterize the important aspect of medical examiner's work and may be used in forensic medical service administration.

Table 1. The participation of medical examiners in inquests (selective statistical analyses of expert practice in Leningrad Region, 1998-2000)

INQUESTS	YEAR			TOTAL N %	per 1.000 autopsies	per 1.000 examina- tions of living persons	?
	1998 n %	1999 n %	2000 n %
Crime scene inspection	707 72,7	813 71,8	782 62,9	2302 68,7	121,9	_
Corpse identification	82 8,4	135 11,9	228 8,3	445 13,3	23,6	_
Inquiry experiments	52 5,3	48 4,3	55 4,4	155 4,6	7,0	0,8
Procurement of comparative samples	32 3,3	39 3,4	67 5,5	138 4,1	5,8	1,0
Interrogation of medical examiners	38 3,9	41 3,6	55 4,4	134 4,0	5,9	2,4
Inspection of injury objects (weapons), transport etc.	31 3,2	29 2,6	39 3,1	99 3,0	3,7	3,3
Interrogations of suspected and defendants	13 1,3	11 1,0	8 0,6	32 1,0	1,7	?
Examination of living Persons	11 1,1	9 0,8	3 0,2	23 0,7	_	2,5
Searching	4 0,4	5 0,4	3 0,2	12 0,3	0,6	_
Exhumation	4 0,4	2 0,2	5 0,4	11 0,3	0,6
TOTAL	974 100	1132 100	1245 100	3351 100	?	?

Diagram 1. Number of forensic autopsies (n) and the average rate of participation (%) in crime scene inspection.

Diagram 2. The Structure of Inquests with participation of Medical Examiners in LR, 1998-2000 (%).

Diagram 3. The number of inquests with participation of medical examiners per 1.000 forensic autopsies (LR, 1998-2000).

Index of authors

Aihara, H. 63, 81

Aihara, M. 63, 81

Behnsen, S. 120

Berzins, U. 104

Bockholdt, B. 92

Bojarun, R. 173

Chvatovic, G. 156, 160

Dezhinova, T. 55

Franzmann, M. 107, 116

Ganulevics, Z. 72

Garmus, A. 173

Grass, H. 120

Grauss, G. 72

Grinenko, A. 21

Hansen, S. H. 107, 116

Hirvonen, J. 165

Hougen, H. P. 116

Huumonen, S. 165

Jakubėnienė, M. 179

Jegorova, N. 59

Kaju, S. 51

Kase, H. 77

Khodasevitch, L. 136, 141

Khodasevitch, T. 128

Kimont, H.-G. 120

Kortelainen, S. 165

Kringsholm, B. 116, 145

Kõiveer, A. 187

Kõlves, K. 15

Käferstein, H. 120

Kurganova I. 190

Lepik, D. 26

Loban I. 190

Lutere, Z. 45,

Mayatskaya, M. 149

Mäkivuoti, M. 165

Nēliuss, U. 51

Pallo, H. 111

Pankova, M. 9

Popov, V. 21

Putaala, J. 165

Raatiniemi, L. 165

Rotbergs, J. 141

Rybalko, J. 59

Safrai, A. 43

Schneider, V. 92

Sitienė, R. 179

Skidenko, N. 9

Smolyanitskaya, A. 149

Smolyanitsky, A. 149

Staak, M. 120

Steentoft, A. 145

Striks, E. 51

Särkioja, T. 165,

Zaslavsky, G. 21, 149

Tasa, G. 187

Teteris, O. 32, 97

Truschus, V. 45

Tuusov, J. 77

Vabels, G. 9

Vaitkevičius, E. 179

Vamze, J. 45

Vassiljev, V. 26, 187

Visciulyte, L. 59

Volgram, J. 128, 132, 141

Volksone, V. 104

Väli, M. 15, 77

Värnik, A. 15

Yushkovsky, V. 21

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