Description
Book SynopsisThis book by Roger W. Shuy, the senior figure in forensic linguistics, is the first to explain in an accessible way the vital role that linguistic evidence and its proper analysis play in criminal investigations. Shuy provides compelling case studies of how language functions in investigations involving, among others, wired undercover operatives, and the interrogation of suspects. He makes the point that language evidence can be as important as physical evidence, but yet does not enjoy the same degree of scrutiny by investigators, attorneys, and the courts. Beyond this, however, his more controversial thesis is that police frequently misuse or manipulate language, using various powerful controversial strategies, in order to intentionally create an impression of the targets'' guilt or even to get them to confess. attorneys, law enforcement officers, judges, and juries This book makes its case by analyzing a dozen criminal cases involving a variety of crimes, such as fraud, bribery, stol
Trade ReviewCreating Language Crimes will easily fit into any undergraduate course on discourse analysis, and it will serve as an excellent primer for non-specialists who wish to understand how the study of language and the practice of law enforcement and investigation converge. * American Speech *
Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Crimes, Conversational Strategies, and Language Power 1: How Language Crimes Are Created 2: Conversational Strategies Used to Create Crimes 3: The Power of Conversational Strategies Part II: Uses by Cooperating Witnesses 4: Overlapping, Ambiguity, and the Hit and Run in a Solicitation to Murder Case: Texas v. T. Cullen Davis 5: Retelling, Scripting, and Lying in a Murder Case: Florida v. Alan Mackerley 6: Interrupting, Overlapping, Lying, Not Taking "No" for an Answer, and Representing Illegality Differently to Separate Targets in a Stolen Property Case: US v. Prakesh Patel and Daniel Houston 7: Eleven Little Ambiguities and How They Grew in a Business Fraud Case: US v. Paul Webster and Joe Martino 8: Discourse Ambiguity in a Contact Fraud Case: US v. David Smith 9: Contamination and Manipulation in a Bribery Case: US v. Paul Manziel 10: Scripting by Requesting Directives and Apologies in a Sexual Misconduct Case: Idaho v. J. Mussina Part III: Uses by Law Enforcement Officers 11: Police Camouflaging in an Obstruction of Justice Case: US v. Brian Lett 12: Police Camouflaging in a Purchasing Stolen Property Case: US v. Tariq Shalash 13: A Rogue Cop and Every Strategy He Can Think Of: The Wenatchee Washington Sex Ring Case 14: An Undercover Policeman Uses Ambiguity, Hit and Run, Interrupting, Scripting, and Refusing to Take "No" for an Answer in a Solicitation to Murder Case: The Crown v. Mohammed Arshad 15: Manipulating the Tape, Interrupting, Inaccurate Restatements, and Scripting in a Murder Case: Florida v. Jerry Townsend Part IV: Conversational Strategies as Evidence 16: Eight Questions about the Power of Conversational Strategies in Undercover Police Investigations References Cited Cases Cited Index
