In Pursuit of an Expert Identity: A Case Study of Experts in the Historical Courtroom

Abstract

There are certain areas of study where present-day semiotics of law can learn from history. This study examines the discursive history and historical courtroom discourse of expert witnesses in eighteenth-century American court. The aim of the study is to explore the use of linguistic strategies and resources in constructing an expert identity in relation to the factors which influence those choices. Instead of taking expertise as being lodged in the pre-given label, such as a doctor, this article argues that such an identity has to be constructed and negotiated, and reveals how such an identity is constructed and negotiated through trial talk during a hostile discursive environment. The historical courtroom is an interesting site in this regard, as it was the period when expert witnesses did not enjoy the same social status as their present-day peers, which came with the absence of discursive privileges as well. It is found that experts mainly relied on expansions of response as the resources to counterbalance skeptical attitudes and hostile attempts aimed to undermine their testimony that accompanied their vulnerable status and image and to gain discursive control during the interaction.

‘I consider myself to be a service provider’: Discursive identity construction of the forensic linguistic expert

“…Heffer (2005) shows how an important identity that Crown Court judges construct for themselves is that of helpers to the jury, and Tracy (2009) demonstrates how, during a samesex marriage case, the distinctive identities of six appellate judges were created through questioning style, frequency and length of questions, format, and content focus. Two more studies from the courtroom setting are Chaemsaithong (2011 and, where the focus is on medical expert witnesses and their construction of expertise during examination. A number of other studies have investigated the transition from student to professional identity, where the occupational groups of interest have been lawyers (Mertz 2007), doctors (Pratt et al 2006), teachers (Dvir and Avissar 2013) and social workers (Wiles 2013).…”

Performing self on the witness stand: Stance and relational work in expert witness testimony

“…Adopting the constructionist view of identity, Chaemsaithong (2011) examines the discursive rights and speaking roles of experts in the early Anglo-American courtroom. He finds that in the historical courtroom, experts had to perform extensive identity construction.…”