An inquest is a formal inquiry into the causes of and circumstances surrounding the death of a person and is conducted by the coroner before a coroner’s jury. A coroner’s inquest is a function of the Sheriff's Office. The County Attorney’s Office assists the sheriff/coroner to conduct the coroner’s inquest. Coroner inquests are less formal than a typical civil or criminal trial. There is not an adversarial party.

The coroner oversees the proceedings, not a judge. The coroner shall, and the county attorney may, examine each witness, after which time the witness may be examined by the jurors.

Circumstances that require a coroner’s inquest before a coroner’s jury are:

1. when a death occurs in a prison, jail or other correctional facility and is not caused by a terminal condition, or
2. if the death occurs while a person is being taken into custody or is in the custody of a peace officer or if the death is caused by a peace officer (and the officer has not been charged).

An inquest may also be held if requested by the county attorney in situations where determining the circumstances around a death in a public forum may be beneficial, such as in a justifiable use of force situation.

Ultimately, the inquest seeks to answer: (1) who the deceased person is; (2) when and where the deceased person died; (3) if the deceased died by criminal means; and (4) if the deceased was killed or the deceased’s death resulted from the act of another by criminal means, who committed the act, if known.

Testimony before a coroner's jury must be given under oath. The testimony of the witnesses examined and proceedings before the coroner's jury must be recorded and transcribed by a stenographer. The record of the inquest and the verdict of the jury must be filed by the coroner in the office of the clerk of the district court of the county in which the inquest was held.  

• There are no scheduled inquests at this time.