Language and Power in Court : A Linguistic Analysis of the O.J. Simpson Trial

Sociolinguists and lawyers will find insight and relevance in this account of the language of the courtroom, as exemplified in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson. The trial is examined as the site of linguistic power and persuasion, focusing on the role of language in (re)presenting and (re)constructing the crime. In addition to the trial transcripts, the book draws on Simpson's post-arrest interview, media reports and post-trial interviews with jurors. The result is a unique multi-dimensional insight into the 'Trial of the Century' from a linguistic and discursive perspective. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction — A Crime Chronology: The Murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman....Pages 1-8 Trial by Jury: Legal Frameworks and Linguistic Consequences....Pages 9-18 Macro-, Micro- and Multiple Narratives: Storytelling in Court....Pages 19-64 Framing Courtroom Narratives through Strategic Lexicalisation: The Opening Statements....Pages 65-90 Interaction in The Criminal Trial: Participants and Processes, Roles and Relationships....Pages 91-125 Direct and Cross-Examination: Questions and Answers in Court....Pages 126-155 Mind the Gap: Negotiating Power, Knowledge and Status in Expert Witness Testimony....Pages 156-198 ‘If It Doesn’t Fit, You Must Acquit’: Reframing the Story through Metaphorical Choice in the Closing Arguments....Pages 199-219 Judging the Jury: the Deliberation, the Verdict and the Aftermath....Pages 220-232 Back Matter....Pages 233-245 Ex-American footballer, actor and celebrity O J Simpson was indicted in late 1994 on two counts of murder, setting the scene for a real-life courtoom drama which came to be known as 'The Trial of the Century'. The trial lasted nine months, involved more than one hundred and twenty witnesses, and was watched on worldwide television by millions of fascinated viewers. This is the first full linguistic analysis of the trial, drawing on the official trial transcripts, police interviews with Simpson and media coverage of the case. Janet Cotterill analyses the language and discourse of the trial, exploring some of the linguistic strategies employed by the judge, lawyers and witnesses in the (re)construction and (re)presentation of the crimes, their victims and alleged perpetrator

Sociolinguists and lawyers will find insight and relevance in this account of the language of the courtroom, as exemplified in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson. The trial is examined as the site of linguistic power and persuasion, focusing on the role of language in (re)presenting and (re)constructing the crime. In addition to the trial transcripts, the book draws on Simpson's post-arrest interview, media reports and post-trial interviews with jurors.

Focusing on the language of the courtroom during the O.J. Simpson trial, Janet Cotterill examines the trial as the site of linguistic power and persuasion in representing and reconstructing the crime