Order in Court [electronic resource] : The Organisation of Verbal Interaction in Judicial Settings

Hearings in courts involve verbal exchanges which in many respects appear to be organised differently from talk in conversation. The distinctive character of talk in judicial settings is a recurrent theme in studies and discussions of court proceedings by sociologists, lawyers and others. It is frequently treated on the one hand as the source of the 'oppressive' nature of court-room interaction, and on the other as a means of ensuring the efficient and proper conduct of cases. In this book, we are also concerned with the organisation of talk in courts, and with how participants manage the business of courts within the constraints imposed by that organisation. We do not, however, propose to take sides in any debate between the critics and supporters of our legal system. Instead we attempt to describe formal, structural or sequential properties of aspects of the organisation of verbal interaction in courts, and to identify some systematic features of certain sequences, such as those involving blame allocation during the cross-examination of witnesses. The detailed analyses of empirical materials presented in the middle parts of the book (Chapters 3-5) derive very much from recent work in ethnomethodology and conversational analysis. Chapter I is therefore designed not only to show the relationship between our analytic approach and those adopted in other research into court-room interaction, but also to outline the development of ethnomethodology's programmatic concerns and the general aims of conversational analysis. And in Chapter 2 we introduce the model of the organisation of turn-taking for conversation which has been elaborated by conversational analysts, with a view to specifying formal constraints that may operate in ex amination. The focus then shifts to analyses of the opening sequences in a Coroner's Court hearing (Chapter 3), and blame allocation sequences in a Tribunal of Inquiry (Chapters 4 and 5). In Chapter 6 some issues associated with the analysis of different types of data are considered, with particular reference to the expanded scope for further research that is provided by the availability of tape-recorded trials. A final postscript consists of a number of highly tentative speculations about possible Vlll Order in Court implications that work of this sort may have for practical debates concerning the design and reform of court procedures (Chapter 7). While we have co-opera ted closely in the preparation of this book, the chapters were written separately. Chapters I, 3, 6 and 7 (by j.M.A.) result from work done as part of a more broadly conceived programme of multi-disciplinary research into the social organisation of judicial procedures, which is one of the projects currently being conducted at the SSRC Centre for Socio-Legal Studies. In developing the studies reported in these chapters, the encouragement and support of colleagues at the Centre have been greatly appreciated, and particular thanks are due to Front Matter....Pages i-ix Analysing Court Proceedings: Sociological and Ethnomethodological Approaches....Pages 1-33 Examination: a Comparison of the Turn-taking Organisations for Conversation and Examination....Pages 34-81 Opening a Hearing: Sequencing and the Accomplishment of Shared Attentiveness to Court Proceedings....Pages 82-104 The Management of an Accusation....Pages 105-135 The Production of Justifications and Excuses by Witnesses in Cross-Examination....Pages 136-187 The Data Base and some Analytic Considerations....Pages 188-216 Postscript: Notes on Practical Implications and Possibilities....Pages 217-232 Back Matter....Pages 233-275 In Religion, Ethnicity and Social Change the author argues that the recent focus on religious fundamentalism in ethnic conflict has obscured the ambiguous role of 'mainstream' Western religion. The book examines the relationship between the religious and secular spheres at a time of rapid transition in South Africa and Northern Ireland.