"Like giving a wheelchair to someone who should be walking": Interpreter access and the problematisation of linguistic diversity in the justice system

Macfarlane, Julie; Kurt, C; Heydon, Georgina; Roh, Hwang-Hee

doi:10.18820/9781928480174/03

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…This paper focuses specifically on criminal legal systems and the ways that the operation of criminal laws, courtroom procedure, legal discourse and institutional practice reinforce borders that aid in the criminalisation of the linguistic ‘Other’. This is pertinent given the growing acknowledgement of the role of language ‘barriers’ as key contributors to miscarriages of justice (Tulich et al, 2017; Roach, 2015; MacFarlane et al, 2019). It is suggested here that such ‘barriers’ are less a function of the individual language practices of minoritised applicants, and more a result of a systemically imposed linguistic ‘order’ rigidly adhered to by the State and its representatives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is especially true in relation to how linguistic difference and inequality are responded to in the criminal legal system. Multiple reviews have found that there has been, and still remains, a systemic under-availability and underuse of language services within policing, courtroom and correctional contexts (Australian Law Reform Commission, 1992; Dobinson and Chiu, 2005; Australian Law Reform Commission, 2017; Johnston, 1991; MacFarlane et al, 2019). In some circumstances, this has created conditions for substantial miscarriages of justice to occur, such as in the 2015 case of young Indigenous man Gene Gibson who was denied access to an interpreter by police during multiple police interviews despite his primary language being Pintupi.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Justice in English-Only

van Buuren

2023

Social & Legal Studies

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Australia has long sought to portray itself as a proudly multicultural nation that claims to welcome and celebrate cultural and linguistic diversity. This article seeks to illustrate how the law, legal discourse and precedent continue to exclude and symbolically punish language-minoritised people, through reinforcing unofficial ‘English-only’ rules. This is accompanied by efforts to deny or downplay the racialised effects of linguistic marginalisation. ‘Equality’ discourses are especially powerful in this kind of denialism, where particular groups are portrayed as equally disadvantaged by particular language requirements needed to exercise and operationalise certain legal rights. This construct of a ‘shared inequality’ when it comes to language is effective in denying that laws can operate in a racially discriminatory manner. At an interactional level, racialised ‘English-only’ rules are reinforced through the policing and assessing of the language practices of minoritised witnesses and accused people. Speaking the ‘right way’ becomes particularly relevant when courtroom credibility assessments are tied to how a person speaks. In this regards, English monolingualism is constructed as the normative benchmark against which the linguistic and racial ‘Other’ is adjudged. This means that a failure to meet this standard can become a basis for questioning a person's credibility and believability as a witness.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Justice in English-Only

van Buuren

2023

Social & Legal Studies

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Forensic Linguistics in Australia

Eades

Fraser

Heydon

2023

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This Element presents an account of forensic linguistics in Australia since the first expert linguistic evidence in 1959, through early work in the 1970s-1980s, the defining of the discipline in the 1990s, and into the current era. It starts with a consideration of some widespread misconceptions about language that affect the field and some problematic ideologies in the law, which underly much of the discussion throughout the Element. The authors' report of forensic linguists' work is structured in terms of the linguistic, interactional and sociocultural contexts of the language data being analysed, whether in expert evidence, in research, or in practical applications of linguistics in a range of legal settings. The Element concludes by highlighting mutual engagement between forensic linguistic practitioners and both the judiciary and legal scholars, and outlines some of the key factors which support a critical forensic linguistics approach in much of the work in the authors' country.

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English and Bislama in the Vanuatu Supreme Court

Schneider

2023

IJSLL

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Nowadays many postcolonial societies endorse multilingualism. But Leung (2019) observes how, in the legal process, ostensible linguistic equality may disguise substantive inequality. She characterises this as a situation of ‘shallow equality’. This article investigates the balance between substantive and shallow equality in the Supreme Court of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Vanuatu is highly multilingual, with over 100 languages. Although the Constitution officially supports all languages, the court ultimately demands competence in English. To investigate this tension I analyse observational and interview data from the field, using a theoretical framework which incorporates language planning, ideologies and practices (Spolsky 2004; 2012; 2021). Results confirm Leung’s thesis. The Court does support multilingualism – particularly the local lingua franca, Bislama – but a ‘shallow equality’ persists. Nevertheless, constitutional protections lead to more positive outcomes than would otherwise eventuate. Also, modest practical measures could be implemented to improve substantive linguistic equality

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"Like giving a wheelchair to someone who should be walking": Interpreter access and the problematisation of linguistic diversity in the justice system

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

Justice in English-Only

Justice in English-Only

Forensic Linguistics in Australia

English and Bislama in the Vanuatu Supreme Court

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