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Alternative Facts: The Strategy Of Judicial Rhetoric, Tonja Jacobi, Eryn Mascia Jan 2023

Alternative Facts: The Strategy Of Judicial Rhetoric, Tonja Jacobi, Eryn Mascia

Emory Law Journal

Studies have established the influence of ideology on the answers justices give to legal questions; this study shows that the questions themselves are often selected, framed, and phrased in a way that promotes ideologically-driven answers. By examining a variety of linguistic techniques used to describe just the facts of constitutional criminal procedure cases—separate from the legal analysis—we show the justices are engaging in highly strategic behavior. The facts included, omitted, or emphasized vary with the ideology of the justices and are predictable not just based on voting behavior in other criminal procedure cases but in all Supreme Court cases. We …


Linguistics In The Courtroom: Incorporating Considerations Of Language And Context To Improve Criminal Court Consent Analysis, Danielle Bimston Jan 2022

Linguistics In The Courtroom: Incorporating Considerations Of Language And Context To Improve Criminal Court Consent Analysis, Danielle Bimston

Emory Law Journal

A legal conundrum occurs every day: suspects regularly incriminate themselves by voluntarily granting their verbal consent to requested searches by law enforcement officers, yet later move to suppress on the basis that they never agreed to such a thing. When these disputes arise, fact finders are left to adjudicate a fundamentally linguistic issue—whether the presence of voluntary consent existed. Herein lies the problem. The current totality test that is used to make this determination gives judges enormous discretionary power to evaluate the merits of the case, but is completely devoid of methodology grounded in linguistic theory that could guide the …


The Near And Distant Discourse Towards Disasterle Discours Proche Et Lointain Envers La Catastrophe, Mohammed Alkhattib Aug 2021

The Near And Distant Discourse Towards Disasterle Discours Proche Et Lointain Envers La Catastrophe, Mohammed Alkhattib

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Abstract: When it comes to talk about a disaster, it is not easy to maintain the objectivity and neutrality towards the event. Emotions can be very explicit, especially when the speaker is “related” to the people affected. “Related” with means kinship does not only mean being a member of one's family, but also of the same region, the same country, or even the same ethnic group. This research aims making a linguistic and discursive comparison between the discourse of two different cultures (Arab and Western) towards the catastrophe. We will take as an example, the disaster of the Jordanian school …


The Meaning Of Sex: Dynamic Words, Novel Applications, And Original Public Meaning, William N. Eskridge Jr., Brian G. Slocum, Stefan Th. Gries May 2021

The Meaning Of Sex: Dynamic Words, Novel Applications, And Original Public Meaning, William N. Eskridge Jr., Brian G. Slocum, Stefan Th. Gries

Michigan Law Review

The meaning of sex matters. The interpretive methodology by which the meaning of sex is determined matters Both of these were at issue in the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, where the Court held that Title VII protects lesbians, gay men, transgender persons, and other sexual and gender minorities against workplace discrimination. Despite unanimously agreeing that Title VII should be interpreted in accordance with its original public meaning in 1964, the opinions in Bostock failed to properly define sex or offer a coherent theory of how long-standing statutes like Title VII should be interpreted over …


From The Myth Of Babel To Google Translate: Confronting Malicious Use Of Artificial Intelligence—Copyright And Algorithmic Biases In Online Translation Systems, Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, Cynthia Martens Sep 2019

From The Myth Of Babel To Google Translate: Confronting Malicious Use Of Artificial Intelligence—Copyright And Algorithmic Biases In Online Translation Systems, Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, Cynthia Martens

Seattle University Law Review

Many of us rely on Google Translate and other Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI) online translation daily for personal or commercial use. These AI systems have become ubiquitous and are poised to revolutionize human communication across the globe. Promising increased fluency across cultures by breaking down linguistic barriers and promoting cross-cultural relationships in a way that many civilizations have historically sought and struggled to achieve, AI translation affords users the means to turn any text—from phrases to books—into cognizable expression. This Article discusses the burgeoning possibilities in the 3A Era (Advanced, Autonomous, AI systems) of AI online translation as …


Replacing The Flawed Chevron Standard, Brian G. Slocum Oct 2018

Replacing The Flawed Chevron Standard, Brian G. Slocum

William & Mary Law Review

Judicial review of agency statutory interpretations depends heavily on the linguistic concept of ambiguity. Most significantly, under Chevron, judicial deference to an agency’s interpretation hinges on whether the court determines the statute to be ambiguous. Despite its importance, the ambiguity concept has been poorly developed by courts and deviates in important respects from how linguists approach ambiguity. For instance, courts conflate ambiguity identification and disambiguation and treat ambiguity as an umbrella concept that encompasses distinct forms of linguistic indeterminacy such as vagueness and generality. The resulting ambiguity standard is unpredictable and does not adequately perform its function of mediating between …


Understanding The Role Of Prosecution History Through Linguistics, Zachary Herman Jan 2017

Understanding The Role Of Prosecution History Through Linguistics, Zachary Herman

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.


Nobel Prizes Would Have Flunked Benzene: Judicial Review Of Administrative Evidence Overlooks Science's Linguistic Tradition, Jimmy J. Zhuang Aug 2016

Nobel Prizes Would Have Flunked Benzene: Judicial Review Of Administrative Evidence Overlooks Science's Linguistic Tradition, Jimmy J. Zhuang

Seton Hall Circuit Review

No abstract provided.


On Reading The Language Of Statutes (Book Review), Linda D. Jellum Mar 2014

On Reading The Language Of Statutes (Book Review), Linda D. Jellum

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Linda D. Jellum reviews Lawrence M. Solan, The Language of Statutes: Laws and Their Interpretation (The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2010), ISBN-13: 978-0-226-76796-3.


War Of The Words: Aliens, Immigrants, Citizens, And The Language Of Exclusion, D. Carolina Nunez Feb 2014

War Of The Words: Aliens, Immigrants, Citizens, And The Language Of Exclusion, D. Carolina Nunez

BYU Law Review

Words communicate more than their ordinary dictionary meaning. Words tell us about individuals' and communities' conscious and subconscious perceptions. The words we use are evidence of how we think, which, in turn, ultimately determines what we do. In this paper, I examine and compare the usage of the words "immigrant," "alien," and "citizen" to make observations on the nature of membership and belonging in the United States. While it is perhaps intuitive that these words carry very different connotations, here I use corpus linguistics to explore those connotations. I rely on the Corpus of Contemporary American English, a database of …


Speaking Of Secession: A Theory Of Linguistic Secession, Sami M. Dudar Oct 2013

Speaking Of Secession: A Theory Of Linguistic Secession, Sami M. Dudar

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


What Could Be Gained In Translation: Legal Language And Lawyer-Linguists In A Globalized World, Samantha Hargitt Jan 2013

What Could Be Gained In Translation: Legal Language And Lawyer-Linguists In A Globalized World, Samantha Hargitt

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Translation and interpretation have long played a vital role in many legal contexts, from providing equal rights to defendants to facilitating mutual understanding among the members of the United Nations. Legal language, though, is incredibly complex and even faithfully equivalent translations can fail to meet the high standards required for operation in international legal contexts, where a lack of understanding over a single term could mean the difference between a material and non-material breach in a treaty or transnational contract. Branches of linguistics, such as comparative legal linguistics and forensic linguistics, study the characteristics and functions of legal language across …


Straight From The Mouth Of The Volcano: The Lowdown On Law, Language, And Latin@S, Ȧngel R. Oquendo Oct 2008

Straight From The Mouth Of The Volcano: The Lowdown On Law, Language, And Latin@S, Ȧngel R. Oquendo

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Latinos and Latinas at the Epicenter of Contemporary Legal Discourses. Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, March 2007.


Forensic Linguistics: An Introduction To Language In The Justice System, By John Gibbons, Drury Stevenson Jan 2006

Forensic Linguistics: An Introduction To Language In The Justice System, By John Gibbons, Drury Stevenson

University of Colorado Law Review

John Gibbons's book Forensic Linguistics provides an excellent introduction to the different areas of interdisciplinary studies involving linguistics and law. Gibbons explores many of the unique linguistic features of legal writing and courtroom speech, and discusses legal regulation of inappropriate uses of language (threats, lies, etc). This review surveys each of these sections of Gibbons's work, and adds in depth critique on issues related to "audience design " in legal documents and the linguistic pitfalls of relying on trial transcripts.


Putting Religious Symbolism In Context: A Linguistic Critique Of The Endorsement Test, B. Jessie Hill Dec 2005

Putting Religious Symbolism In Context: A Linguistic Critique Of The Endorsement Test, B. Jessie Hill

Michigan Law Review

The treatment of Establishment Clause challenges to displays of religious symbolism by the Supreme Court and the lower courts is notoriously unpredictable: a crèche is constitutionally acceptable if it is accompanied by a Santa Claus house and reindeer, a Christmas tree, and various circus figures, but unacceptable if it is accompanied by poinsettias, a "peace tree," or a wreath, a tree, and a plastic Santa Claus. A menorah may be displayed next to a Christmas tree, or next to Kwanzaa symbols, Santa Claus, and Frosty the Snowman, but not next to a crèche and a Christmas tree. A number of …


Speech And Strife, Robert L. Tsai Jul 2004

Speech And Strife, Robert L. Tsai

Law and Contemporary Problems

Tsai examines the ways in which the US Supreme Court uses language to signal its authority. One technique of the Court is to frequently use the image of institutional conflict within its rulings.


Spaceball (Or, Not Everything That's Left Is Postmodern), Dennis W. Arrow Nov 2001

Spaceball (Or, Not Everything That's Left Is Postmodern), Dennis W. Arrow

Vanderbilt Law Review

Given law-school postmodernism's epistemo/ontology of juvenile antirealist agnosticism, its commitment to Gadamerian and/or Derridean notions of linguistic indeterminacy, its mono- maniacal dedication to centrifugal end-justifies-the-means Lefty politics, its abhorrence of commonly recognized conceptions of neutral principle, its concomitant disrespect for the very notion of truth, and its inextricably intertwined obsession with names and propensity for linguistic doublespeak, Professor Arrow confesses to initially wondering what it might "mean" to take anything uttered by a postmodernist "literally," or at "face value." But undaunted by that 'paradox," Professor Arrow not only takes up Feldman's challenge to "critique postmodernism on its own terms" (by …


The Universal Grammar Of Criminal Law, Stuart P. Green May 2000

The Universal Grammar Of Criminal Law, Stuart P. Green

Michigan Law Review

There is something about the criminal law that invites comparative analysis. The interests it protects are so basic, and its concerns so fundamental, that it is natural to ask whether there are aspects of criminal law that are somehow universal. We want to know whether familiar concepts such as murder and manslaughter, intent and negligence, and insanity and mistake, are characteristic of other systems of criminal law as well, and, if so, what role they play there. In the last generation, no criminal law scholar has made better use of comparative law techniques than George Fletcher, the Cardozo Professor of …


Deadweight Costs And Intrinsic Wrongs Of Nativism: Economics Freedom And Legal Suppression Of Spanish , Drucilla Cornell, William W. Bratton Mar 1999

Deadweight Costs And Intrinsic Wrongs Of Nativism: Economics Freedom And Legal Suppression Of Spanish , Drucilla Cornell, William W. Bratton

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Lost Volume Seller And Lost Profits Under U.C.C. § 2-708(2): A Conceptual And Linguistic Critique, John M. Breen Jul 1996

The Lost Volume Seller And Lost Profits Under U.C.C. § 2-708(2): A Conceptual And Linguistic Critique, John M. Breen

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Interpreters, Kenneth L. Karst May 1990

The Interpreters, Kenneth L. Karst

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Justice as Translation: An Essay in Cultural and Legal Criticism by James Boyd White


Conceptual Analysis And The Virtues And Vices Of Professor Westen’S Linguistics, Timothy P. Terrell Sep 1986

Conceptual Analysis And The Virtues And Vices Of Professor Westen’S Linguistics, Timothy P. Terrell

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.


The Shifting Vocabulary Of Antitrust--Legal Linguistics In A Period Of Change, Betty Bock Jan 1985

The Shifting Vocabulary Of Antitrust--Legal Linguistics In A Period Of Change, Betty Bock

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.