The right to understand the right of silence: a few comments. (A commentary on discussions on the right of silence which appeared in issue 7(1))

Abstract

In this short note, I would like to relate to the discussions on the right of silence which appeared in the last issue of the Journal of Forensic Linguistics 7(1) (Cotterill 2000; Russell 2000). Instead of dealing with details of research in the field, which have been more than adequately covered by the two authors, I would like to stay at a more general level, and address two issues: the need for such a set of rights, and alternative ways of getting the message across.