Coroner appointed

Auckland lawyer Deborah Marshall has been appointed as a Coroner for the Auckland region, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Ms Marshall is currently General Counsel for the Serious Fraud Office. Prior to joining that office in June 2010, she was a partner at Meredith Connell. She is an experienced criminal prosecutor, specialising in regulatory litigation. She has appeared in many courts and tribunals, including the High Court, District Court, Coroner’s Court and Human Rights Review Tribunal. She has also prosecuted cases in various disciplinary tribunals, including the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.

The function of a Coroner is to inquire into the cause of death where the death appears to have been violent, unnatural, without known cause, a suicide, or appears to have occurred while the deceased was in the custody of the state.

Ms Marshall fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Dr Murray Jamieson in September 2011, and will relieve pressure on the three coroners currently based in Auckland.