KISSing the jury·- advantages and limitations of the 'keep it simple' principle in the presentation of expert evidence to courts and juries

Authors

  • Kate Storey-White JP French Associates and Monash University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v4i2.280

Keywords:

evidence, expert evidence, interpreters, cross-examination

Abstract

Initiatives by groups such as the 'Plain English Movement', which strive to render legal language comprehensible to the lay-person caught up in legal or judicial processes, might eventually include an appraisal of the problem of the language of expert evidence, which almost inevitably involves a trade-off between accessibility and scientific precision. The expert sitting quietly in the laboratory analysing forensic evidence, and then writing up a report, is often both physically and psychologically far removed from the court. Further, under the adversarial system 'the court' is not a single, simple entity, it involves a disparate array of participants: judge, jury, prosecutor, informant, defence counsel, opposing expert, pen writer or transcriber, defendant, and increasingly, interpreter. Each of these participants has the right to hear or view evidence in a form which ensures that it and its significance will be thoroughly understood. In this paper, I discuss the form and nature of forensic language both as a linguist and as an expert witness.

Author Biography

  • Kate Storey-White, JP French Associates and Monash University
    KATE STOREY-WHITE is now working as an independent forensic consultant with J P French Associates, York, UK. Current research interests include forensic interpreting and translation.

Published

1997-12-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Storey-White, K. (1997). KISSing the jury·- advantages and limitations of the ’keep it simple’ principle in the presentation of expert evidence to courts and juries. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, 4(2), 280-286. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v4i2.280