Do you know your coroner?

Absolutely insane.

"In the United States there isn't just one system. Coroners can be elected or appointed. Some are also sheriffs or funeral home directors. But many coroners aren't doctors."



"In an affluent Denver suburb, Mike Dobersen's first task while campaigning was to get past people's surprise that coroners are elected.

"The first thing they say is, 'What do you mean I have to vote for the coroner?' The second thing they usually come out [and say] is, 'You mean you don't have to be a doctor?' " says Dobersen, who has been the coroner in Arapahoe County, Colo., for 17 years. He is a rarity among coroners not only because he is a medical doctor but also because he's a board certified forensic pathologist, which means he's formally trained to perform autopsies after many years of schooling.

Each election, he is in danger of losing his job to someone with no medical training. In many states, the only requirement to get the job is to be of legal age and have no felony convictions.

"A lot of people don't really understand what the coroner does and tend to vote their political affiliation," Dobersen says.

When Election Day arrived, Dobersen, who ran as a Democrat, barely managed to keep his job in the Republican surge, winning 51 percent of the vote."

Read more

at NPR where these experts are from. You can listen to it as well. Please check it out, there is a lot more to the story.