For this inquest there shall be summoned and returned by the sheriff of the county or sergeant of the city ten qualified jurors, of whom at least seven shall be impaneled as a jury. They shall meet at the courthouse and sit in public and may be adjourned by the escheator from day to day. Every person competent to testify as a witness shall be required to give evidence openly in the presence of the jurors.
Code 1919, § 494; 1977, c. 583; 1984, c. 315; 1990, c. 938; 1996, c. 551.