The language of murder cases : intentionality, predisposition, and voluntariness

This volume describes 15 court cases for which Roger Shuy served as an expert language witness and explains the issues at stake in those cases for lawyers and linguists. Murder case investigations and trials are guided by the important legal terms describing the mental states of defendants - their intentionality, predisposition, and voluntariness. Statutes and dictionaries can provide only loose definitions, largely because mental states are virtually impossible to define. Their meaning, therefore, must be adduced either by inferences and assumptions or by any available language evidence.
Abstract: The Language of Murder Cases describes fifteen court cases for which Roger Shuy served as an expert language witness, and explains the issues at stake in those cases for lawyers and linguists.