inquest

inquest is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 1 sense. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.(Law) (a) Judicial inquiry; official examination, esp. before a jury; as, a coroner's inquest in case of a sudden death. (b) A body of men assembled under authority of law to inquire into any matterm civil or criminal, particularly any case of violent or sudden death; a jury, particularly a coroner's jury. The grand jury is sometimes called the grand inquest. See under Grand. (c) The finding of the jury upon such inquiry. Coroner's inquest, an inquest held by a coroner to determine the cause of any violent, sudden, or mysterious death. See Coroner. -- Inquest of office, an inquiry made, by authority or direction of proper officer, into matters affecting the rights and interests of the crown or of the state. Craig. Bouvier.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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