Suspected Homicide

The postmortem examination in cases of suspected homicide represents one of the most important applications of medicolegal science to the needs of the community. Its proper performance is of paramount concern to those agencies of government responsible for law enforcement and the effective administration of justice. In view "of the desire of the medical and legal professions, increasingly evident in recent years, to improve the standards and quality of medicolegal practice throughout the country, it was considered timely and appropriate to review again the subject of the postmortem examination in cases of homicide, and to point out what is expected in the way of performance of the person entrusted with it. In a paper published several years ago, the author described and discussed the routine procedures necessary in such examinations.' Inadequacies of Medicolegal Agencies and of the Statutes Pertaining to Them At present, in most sections of the country, the postmortem investigation of homicide is... inexpertly and