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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2008
Roger W. Shuy, Linguistics in the courtroom: A practical guide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. xiv + 146. Hb $35.00.
The focus of Linguistics in the courtroom is narrower than the title implies: It is not intended for, say, linguists who are courtroom interpreters or those who are concerned with reforming jury instructions to make them more intelligible. Rather, this is a succinct, authoritative guidebook for linguists who give scientific advice to attorneys about linguistic issues in criminal and civil court cases. Consultants frequently are asked to write reports, filed under oath, that are intended to influence judges and worry opposing counsel; Roger Shuy cogently describes such documents, their purposes, and the processes for drawing them up (chapter 6). In civil cases, report writers are usually cross-examined under oath in a discovery procedure called a “deposition” (chapter 7). Occasionally, the linguist also appears as an expert witness in trial appearances before judges and juries (chapters 8–9). These chapters alone are well worth the price of the book.