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Seattle University School of Law

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Linguistics As A Knowledge Domain In The Law, Janet Ainsworth Jan 2006

Linguistics As A Knowledge Domain In The Law, Janet Ainsworth

Faculty Articles

This article focuses on the use of linguistic expertise by trial courts to aid in fact-finding. It identifies many of the ways the legal system has been enriched by donations from linguistic scholarship. In addition, it discusses the underutilized-at-present use of linguistic knowledge by appellate courts as a tool for crafting and applying doctrinal rules. Whereas courts have adopted economics analysis in determining appropriate legal rules, linguistic science has been neglected. Linguistic predictions are more testable and falsifiable than economic predictions. Linguistic research can be useful—particularly in the areas of comprehensibility of texts and resolving textual ambiguity. Indeed, legislatures and …


The First Amendment In An Age Of Paratroopers, David Skover, Ronald Collins Jan 1990

The First Amendment In An Age Of Paratroopers, David Skover, Ronald Collins

Faculty Articles

As the lead piece in a Colloquy entitled The First Amendment and the Paratroopers' Paradox, this article argues that today's free speech theory is largely grounded in 18th Century fears of government's tyrannical censorship. This theory is ill-equipped to deal with a distinct tyranny in 21st Century America, a tyranny playing upon the public's insatiable appetite for amusement. Those who venture to develop free speech principles to suit a new cultural environment are the First Amendment paratroopers of our time, the ones who realize that we cannot retain our old constitutional prerogatives in a transformed world. The Paratroopers' Paradox: To …