Forensic Linguistics: The Linguistic Analyst and Expert Witness of Language Evidence in Criminal ...

161 Pages·2012·1.22 MB·English

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 472 652
FL 027 593
Jordan, Sherilynn Nidever
AUTHOR
Forensic Linguistics: The Linguistic Analyst and Expert
TITLE
Witness of Language Evidence in Criminal Trials.
2002-08-00
PUB DATE
159p.; A thesis presented to the Faculty of the School of
NOTE
Intercultural Studies, Department of TESOL and Applied
Linguistics, Biola University.
Dissertations/Theses - Masters Theses (042) --
PUB TYPE
Speeches /Meeting Papers (150)
EDRS Price MF01/PC07 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*Crime; *Criminal Law; Ethics; *Evidence (Legal); *Forensic
DESCRIPTORS
Sciences; *Linguistics
Expert Witness; Forensic Psychology; Trials
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
Forensic linguistics (FL) provides consultation to lawyers
through the analysis of language evidence during the pre-trial investigation.
Evidence commonly analyzed by linguists in criminal cases includes
transcripts of police interviews and language crimes (such as bribery) and
anonymous or questioned texts. Forensic linguistic testimony is rarely
admitted into courts of law, however. A major reason for this is apparently
impressionistic methods, which are examined for their objectivity. A further
barrier to legal acceptance is that FL experts, like all experts testifying
in court, support the claims of whichever side has hired them. Nonetheless,
forensic linguists have an ethical and professional responsibility to provide
the legal community with reliable and admissible information and help prevent
unfair conviction or acquittal of criminal defendants. Legal acceptance of FL
expertise should increase as methods improve and as forensic linguists adapt
to legal norms. This thesis includes five parts:
"The Field of Forensic
(1)
(2) "The Evidence Forensic Linguists Analyze"; "The Need to
Linguistics";
(3)
Improve Credibility in the Legal Community";
(4) "Professional and Ethical
Issues and Responsibilities for Forensic Linguists"; and (5)
"The Future of
Forensic Linguistics." Anthrax letters are appenddd. (Contains 92
references.)
(SM)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
FORENSIC LINGUISTICS: THE LINGUISTIC ANALYST AND EXPERT
WITNESS OF LANGUAGE EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL TRIALS
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Intercultural Studies
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
ED
ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
Department of TESOL and Applied Linguistics
CENTER (ERIC)
This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
originating it.
Biola University
Minor changes have been made to
improve reproduction quality.
Points of view or opinions stated in this
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
document do not necessarily represent
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
official OERI position or policy.
BEEN GRANTED BY
In Partial Fulfillment
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
1
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics
by
Sherilynn Nidever Jordan
August 2002
BST COPYMA1
6
ABSTRACT
FORENSIC LINGUISTICS: THE LINGUISTIC ANALYST AND EXPERT
WITNESS OF LANGUAGE EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL TRIALS
Sherilynn Nidever Jordan
Forensic Linguistics provides consultation to lawyers through the
analysis of language evidence during the pre-trial investigation. Evidence
commonly analyzed by linguists in criminal cases includes transcripts of police
interviews and language crimes (such as bribery) and anonymous or
questioned texts. Forensic linguistic testimony is rarely admitted into courts of
law, however. A major reason for this is apparently impressionistic methods,
which are examined for their objectivity. A further barrier to legal acceptance is
that FL experts, like all experts testifying in court, support the claims of
whichever side has hired them. Nonetheless, forensic linguists have an ethical
and professional responsibility to provide as thorough and objective analyses
as possible in order to provide the legal community with reliable and admissible
information and help prevent unfair conviction or acquittal of criminal
defendants. Legal acceptance of FL expertise should increase as methods
improve and as forensic linguists adapt to legal norms.
FORENSIC LINGUISTICS: THE LINGUISTIC ANALYST AND EXPERT
WITNESS OF LANGUAGE EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL TRIALS
BY
Sherilynn Nidever Jordan
APPROVED:
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Purnell
Dr. Herbert C.
Chair, Thesis Committee
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Dr. Stephen Baf6er
Member, Thesis Committee
Mr. Walter Lewis
Member, Thesis Committee
APPROVED:
v t,
Date
Dr. F. Dougla Pennoyer
Dean, School of Intercultural Studies
Copyright © 2002 by Sherilynn Nidever Jordan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PART ONE: THE FIELD OF FORENSIC LINGUISTICS
3
4
THE FORENSIC LINGUIST DEFINED
LANGUAGE AND THE LAW VERSUS FORENSIC LINGUISTICS
6
OVERVIEW OF ISSUES IN THE FIELD OF LANGUAGE AND THE LAW
8
...8
Language in the Legal Arena
Legal Language
8
14
Courtroom Discourse
Court Interpreting and Other Non-native Speaker Issues
18
Language Legislation
21
23
Trademark Infringement Cases
25
Sociolinguistic and Dialectological Contributions
...28
Forensic Linguistics
PART TWO: THE EVIDENCE FORENSIC LINGUISTS ANALYZE
31
32
TRANSCRIPTS
32
Transcripts As Incomplete Representations of Interactions
35
Types of Transcript Analysis
Authenticity Evaluation of Police Transcripts or Recordings of
35
Witness/Suspect Statements
iii
Discourse Analysis of Alleged Language Crime
42
Recordings
LANGUAGE EVIDENCE IN QUESTIONED OR ANONYMOUS
46
AUTHORSHIP CASES.
47
The Uniqueness of Individual Linguistic Behavior
Speaker/Writer Identification Through Analysis of Language Stylistic
52
Elements
PART THREE: THE NEED TO IMPROVE CREDIBILITY IN THE LEGAL
.62
COMMUNITY
REASONS FOR LACK OF RECOGNITION BY THE LEGAL
63
COMMUNITY
.63
Tentative Acceptance of Expert Testimony
63
Admissibility of Expert Evidence in Court
.63
History of Expert Testimony in General
65
History of Forensic Linguistics in Court
69
Federal Rules of Evidence
Conflicting Testimonies of Experts
71
.72
The Inability to Produce Legally Acceptable Findings
72
The Assumption of Native Speaker Linguistic Expertise
74
The Lack of Empirical Methods
77
FORENSIC LINGUISTIC METHODS: SUBJECTIVE?
77
Electro-Static Deposition Analysis (ESDA)
82
Disputed Authorship Index (DAI)
84
Cumulative Sum Analysis (QSUM)
89
Type-Token Ratio (TTR)
96
Forensic Linguistic Differential Diagnosis (FLDD)
.99
Forensic Discourse Analysis
106
Corpus Linguistics
..113
Error Analysis
116
General Recommendations
PART FOUR: PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES AND
.121
RESPONSIBILITIES FOR FORENSIC LINGUISTS
APPARENT ADVOCACY AND CONFLICTING EXPERT
122
TESTIMONY
123
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE FORENSIC LINGUIST
INTERACTION WITH THE LEGAL COMMUNITY OFF AND ON THE
124
WITNESS STAND
INVOLVEMENT IN CASES CONTRARY TO ONE'S OWN
126
MORAL PRINCIPLES
129
PART FIVE: THE FUTURE OF FORENSIC LINGUISTICS
130
A SHORT LIFE EXPECTANCY?
130
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIELD OF FORENSIC LINGUISTICS
132
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND AREAS'FOR FURTHER STUDY
137
REFERENCES CITED
146
Appendix A Anthrax Letters
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe special thanks to Mr. Walter Lewis, a retired Deputy District Attorney
of the County of Los Angeles, for his thoughtful critique of my thesis, and for his
many comments and copies of articles providing me much greater insight into the
legal world and its response to forensic linguistic claims.
I also must thank the English Language Studies Program at Biola
University for allowing me to spend hours on end hovering over the computer in
the ELSP office to produce this thesis.
Finally, thanks to my thesis committee, friends and colleagues for their
support and prayers as I attempted to accomplish the biggest feat of my grad
school years, particularly in those moments when I was unsure whether I would
ever finish.
a
vi
The term forensic linguistics may evoke various images for the interested
listener. One image may be that of a skillful rhetorician engaged in lively
courtroom debate, wrapping an eloquent web of words around a rapt jury and
winning his case (an image which more accurately may depict the hiring
lawyer). On the other hand, the image may be a large question mark betrayed
by a look of puzzlement. Although the first image is, as of yet, completely
fictitious, the field of forensic linguistics still conjures up notions of language,
law and justice with a whole range of possibilities to research and explore. The
primary focus of this thesis will be to examine the investigative role of the
forensic linguist in analyzing language evidence and interpreting it in a
meaningful and objective manner for the benefit of the legal community. The
secondary focus found in the linguistic literature, is the role of the forensic
linguist as expert witness. This is because forensic linguistic testimony is heard
in court much more rarely than linguistic evidence presented at the pre-trial
stages in criminal proceedings: Part of the reason for this lies in issues of
admissibility of expert testimony in court as well as in linguistic methods
deemed subjective by the legal community, addressed in Part Three of this
practice of forensic
paper. Ethical and professional considerations of the
linguistics (FL) is a further and subsidiary focus, examined in Parts Four and
Five.
My initial interest in forensic linguistics was spawned by an encounter
with articles about criminal proceedings in which forensic linguistic evidence
10