Cops and Robbers
Selective Literalism in American Criminal Law
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4797100 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Tiersma (Loyola Marymount University), Peter M Tiersma, Lawrence M Solan (Brooklyn Law School) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 229-266 |
| Publication date | 2004-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law & Society Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0023-9216 • E-ISSN: 1540-5893 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.0023-9216.2004.03802008.x |
| OpenAlex | W2116135370 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 21 |
Police often ask people to consent to a search of their person or possessions. Many people agree to allow such searches because they interpret the officers' ostensible "requests" as indirect commands. Yet courts routinely interpret police utterances in this situation as requests. A similar issue arises in the context of custodial interrogation. People being interrogated are inclined to invoke their right to counsel in relatively indirect or tentative terms. Yet courts often conclude that the suspect did not really "request" the presence of counsel. We refer to this inconsistency as "selective literalism," by which we mean that courts selectively consider pragmatic circumstances in interpreting the speech of suspects. Using analytical tools from linguistic theory, this article explores how courts employ selective literalism. It further examines some of the consequences of this inconsistent use of interpretive devices, both practically and jurisprudentially
Context (archaeology · Function (biology · Officer · Political science · Reasonable suspicion · Right to counsel · Supreme court · Suspect · Think aloud protocol · Computer Science · Criminal Law and Evidence · Deception detection and forensic psychology · Jury Decision Making Processes · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,29 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2024 (13) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |