The suspect's statement : talk and text in the criminal process / Martha Komter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Komter, Martha, author.

Series:

Studies in interactional sociolinguistics ; 33.

Studies in interactional sociolinguistics ; 33

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Criminal procedure.

Criminal investigation.

Police questioning.

Due process of law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 207 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Summary:

What suspects tell the police may become a crucial piece of evidence when the case comes to court. But what happens to 'the suspect's statement' when it is written down by the police? Based on a unique set of data from over fifteen years' worth of research, Martha Komter examines the trajectory of the suspect's statement from the police interrogation through to the trial. She shows how the suspect's statement is elicited and written down in the police report, how this police report both represents and differs from the original talk in the interrogation, and how it is quoted and referred to in court. The analyses cover interactions in multiple settings, with documents that link one interaction to the next, providing insights into the interactional and documentary foundations of the criminal process and, more generally, into the construction, character and uses of documents in institutional settings.

Contents:

The police interrogation : the talk, the typing and the text

The police report : the document, the text, and the talk

The trial : documents in action

The career of a suspect's statement

Conclusion and discussion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 26 Mar 2019).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-108-62290-9

1-107-44506-X

1-108-60573-7