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Multimodal Action and Speaker Positioning in Closing Argument

  • Kristin Enola Gilbert

    Kristin Enola Gilbert is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is writing a dissertation on multimodal conduct in focus group interactions.

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    and Gregory M. Matoesian

    Gregory M. Matoesian is Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the author of Reproducing Rape: Domination through Talk in the Courtroom 1993 (U. of Chicago Press) and Law and the Language of Identity 2001 (Oxford U. Press). His main interest is in language and multimodal conduct in the construction and co-construction of legal context.

Published/Copyright: November 28, 2015

Abstract

This paper examines how gesture, gaze, and objects function in speaker positioning, epistemic stance, and the production of evidence during closing argument in a criminal trial. While most research on closing focuses on descriptions of witnesses’ testimony, this research considers the role of objects as communicative action in the construction and co-construction of persuasive legal oratory. We demonstrate how an attorney can reduce social distance between himself and jurors through the use of impersonal and exclusive pronouns and how speech, gesture, and objects integrate along the aesthetic dimension of communicative practice to emphasize and evaluate testimony. More specifically, we demonstrate how a novel form of evidential action emerges through a recurring flow of gaze, objects, and coding practice.

About the authors

Kristin Enola Gilbert

Kristin Enola Gilbert is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is writing a dissertation on multimodal conduct in focus group interactions.

Gregory M. Matoesian

Gregory M. Matoesian is Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the author of Reproducing Rape: Domination through Talk in the Courtroom 1993 (U. of Chicago Press) and Law and the Language of Identity 2001 (Oxford U. Press). His main interest is in language and multimodal conduct in the construction and co-construction of legal context.

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Published Online: 2015-11-28
Published in Print: 2015-12-1

©2015 by De Gruyter Mouton

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