ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 July 1986
Page Count: 9

The Proof in Law of Suicide
Massello, W
Assistant chief medical examiner, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Western Division, Commonwealth of Virginia, VA

(Received 20 May 1985; accepted 16 September 1985)

Abstract

The certification of suicide as the manner of death is frequently contested in court by the victim's survivors, particularly when there are life insurance benefits at stake. The evidence upon which the opinion of suicide is based must, therefore, meet the standard of proof required in law, if it is to be sustained by the courts. This standard of proof and some of its contingent common law doctrines are discussed, with references to several judicial opinions from cases which involved contested suicides.

Keywords:
jurisprudence, suicide, death

Paper ID: JFS11108J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11108J
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