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Another major deficiency in the current coroner system is that it leaves medical examiners open to political pressure. Virtually all are appointed by elected officials. And politicians and district attorneys often want team players. M.E.s who are too independent may eventually be ousted from their posts, charges Baden, citing his own experience as chief medical examiner of New York City. Former M.E.s in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles put forward the same claim. "No one says lie," observes Baden, "but they want to push you further than the science permits."
To make the prosecution's case stronger, a medical examiner may be pressured to say a woman was raped before she was murdered, though the evidence is equivocal. Or the M.E. may be pushed to attribute the death of a person in police custody to the victim's use of cocaine rather than a choke hold applied by officers. M.E.s may deny being subjected to such nudging, but they agree that their independence must be guarded.
Some forensic pathologists suggest giving medical examiners civil service status or allying them more closely with medical schools, where independence is a tradition. Many advocate setting up regional forensic centers to provide expert consultants to local communities. Almost all emphasize that higher salaries are needed to lure bright young doctors into the field. Most M.E.s make less than $100,000 a year, while a pathologist who runs a hospital's laboratory services can pull in more than double that amount.
A strong system for investigating unnatural deaths is becoming increasingly necessary. Capital punishment has returned. Defense attorneys are more aggressive in challenging the accuracy of evidence. Citizens groups are more vocal in their charges of police brutality. Warns Baden: "It's more important than ever that we don't make mistakes." A lax system will erode public faith in the credibility of the medical examiner, and that would be a crime.