Coerced Confessions: The Discourse of Bilingual Police Interrogations (Language, Power and Social Process, Vol 25)

275 Pages·2009·1.497 MB·

by  Susan Berk-Seligson

Coerced Confessions
≥
Language, Power and
Social Process 25
Editor
Richard J. Watts
Mouton de Gruyter
Berlin · New York
Coerced Confessions
The Discourse
of Bilingual Police Interrogations
by
Susan Berk-Seligson
Mouton de Gruyter
Berlin · New York
MoutondeGruyter(formerlyMouton,TheHague)
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Berk-Seligson,Susan.
Coercedconfessions:thediscourseofbilingualpoliceinterroga-
tions/bySusanBerk-Seligson.
p.cm.(cid:2) (Language,powerandsocialprocess;25)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-3-11-021348-5(hardcover:alk.paper)
1.Criticaldiscourseanalysis(cid:2)Socialaspects. 2.Bilingualism(cid:2)
Socialaspects. 3.Policequestioning(cid:2)Socialaspects. 4.Inter-
culturalcommunication(cid:2)Socialaspects. I.Title.
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2009010492
ISBN 978-3-11-021348-5
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Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the invaluable feedback of
a number of colleagues who heard early versions of various book chapters at
thedifferentconferenceswhereIpresentedthem.Specifically,IthankRonBut-
ters,JanetCotterill,MalcolmCoulthard,BethanyDumas,DianaEades,Barbara
Johnstone, Ruth Morris, Miriam Shlesinger, Roger Shuy, Larry Solan, Peter
Tiersma,andMargaretvanNaerssen,forthehelpfulcommentsthattheymade
attheseconferencepanels andin e-mailcorrespondenceduring the writing of
thesechapters.IoweaparticulardebtofgratitudetoBarbaraJohnstoneforsteer-
ing meintellectually during the years in which we were “next-door neighbor”
colleaguesinPittsburgh,Pennsylvania–sheatCarnegieMellonUniversityand
Iat theUniversity ofPittsburgh. Hercommentsat Ph.D. dissertation defenses
andininformalconversationshelpedmetoformulatenewpathsofthinkingand
toshapemyintellectualgrowth.
I thank Equinox Publishers for giving me permission to incorporate a re-
vised version of “Interpreting for the Police: Issues in Pre-trial Phases of the
Judicial Process,” and portions of “The Impact of Court Interpreting on the
Coerciveness of Leading Questions,” both of which had appeared in Forensic
Linguistics:TheInternational JournalofSpeech,LanguageandtheLaw.Ialso
thankPalgraveMacmillanforallowing metopublish revisedversions of“The
MirandaWarnings and Linguistic Coercion:The Role of Footing in the Inter-
rogationofaLimited-English SpeakingMurderSuspect,”whichhadappeared
in Janet Cotterill’s edited volume, Language in the Legal Process (2002), and
“TheElicitation of aConfession:Admitting toMurder but Resisting anAccu-
sationofAttemptedRape,”whichhadformedpartofJanetCotterill’s volume,
TheLanguageofSexCrimes(2007).Janet’ssuggestionsforrevisiononbothof
thosebookchapterswereparticularlyhelpful.
My heartful thanks go to Mitchell A. Seligson and to our daughter, Am-
ber Levanon Seligson, for their willingness to read through the entire book
manuscriptandtogivemenumerousinsightful suggestions forrevision.Itisa
proudmoment,indeed,whenamothercanacknowledgethe valueofadaugh-
ter’s corrective feedback.And while my mother, Marta Berk, passed away on
August1of2008,beforethepublicationofthisbook,Ithankherinmemorium
forhergraciousnessandpatiencewithmewheneverIwould arriveatherdoor
laterthanIhadpromised.Neveronetocomplain,shealwayswashappytosee
mewhenIfinallyshowedup.
Finally, I wish to point out that in each of the detailed case studies that I
analyze in this book I have deidentified the names of all persons, places and
dates,inconformitywithhumansubjectsprotection requirements.

Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Chapter1
Introduction: languageandinstitutional power 1
1. Coercedconfessions andwrongfulconvictions 3
2. Explanations forwrongfulconvictions 4
3. Police-inducedfalseconfessions 8
4. Incipient bilingualism and coerced confessions: when the suspect
haslimitedproficiencyinthelanguageofthelaw 10
5. Governmentresponsetotheneedforinterpreting/
translating servicesintheadministration ofjustice 11
6. Organizationofthebook 13
Chapter2
Interpretingforthepolice:issuesinpre-trialphasesofthejudicialprocess 15
1. Theinterpreting continuum 16
2. Theproblemofconflictofinterest 18
3. Interpretersforthepolice:areviewofappellatecases 23
3.1. Policeofficersasinterpretersandtranslators 24
3.2. Theuseofnon-policepersonnelasadhocinterpreters 31
3.2.1. Qualitycheckingonadhocinterpreters 34
4. Conclusions 36
Chapter3
TheMirandawarningsandlinguistic coercion:theroleoffooting
intheinterrogationofalimited-English-speaking murdersuspect 38
1. TheMirandaRights 39
2. SubversionoftheMirandarights ofalimited-English speaker 46
3. Thecase:ThePeoplev.Alvarez 46
3.1. Thelinguistic achievementofcoercion 48
3.1.1. Coercionbythepoliceinterpreter 50
3.1.2. Footingasco-interrogator 51
3.1.3. Failuretointerpretutterances 60
4. Conclusions 62
Appendix1 65