Police Interrogation, Language, and the Law
The Invocation Game
Published on 21. December 2023
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-1-316-51152-7 (ISBN)
Description
Recent calls for justice reform have put a spotlight on how the police enforce the law in the United States. How a person's constitutional rights may be legally thwarted during police interrogation, however, has not been part of any meaningful discussion on police reform. This novel book examines the intersections of the law and policing discourse through the detailed analysis of a large corpus of United States federal court rulings, starting with Miranda v. Arizona (1966). It covers a wide range of topics, including the history of police interrogation in the United States, the role of federal law in handicapping a person's ability to invoke their right to counsel, and the invocation game of police interrogation that may lead a variety of suspects to change their discursive preferences. It highlights the need for American police interrogation reform, exploring the paths taken by other jurisdictions outside of the United States. This title is part of the Flip it Open programme and may also be available on open access. Check our website, Cambridge Core, for details.
Reviews / Votes
'This work provides an in-depth analysis of police interrogations over time and proposes a new innovative methodology for their analysis. Undoubtedly, a great contribution to the judicial world.' Sheila Queralt, Forensic Linguist, Director at Laboratorio SQ-Lingueistas Forenses 'This book is an excellent analysis of Miranda v. Arizona, the laws developed in response to Miranda, and police application of Miranda in interrogation/interview practices. The corpus of federal cases that the author creates captures the depth and breadth of the issue, and the analysis is both sharp edged and crystal clear. It is written in an accessible style with many examples and careful explanations that make it excellent for classroom applications. The implications of this research will have major social ramifications as police reform continues to develop and unfold.' Jennifer Andrus, Professor, Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies at the University of Utah 'This book is essential for sociolinguists, linguistic anthropologists, and other scholars exploring mixed-method approaches to understanding legal discourses and power dynamics, among many other issues prevalent in institutional settings. It also offers valuable insights to law enforcement and legal defense practitioners interested in reforming interrogations.' Peter Joseph Torres, Language in SocietyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
440 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-316-51152-7 (9781316511527)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2025
Cambridge University Press
€37.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
12/2023
Cambridge University Press
€117.99
Available for download
E-Book
12/2023
Cambridge University Press
€117.99
Available for download
Person
Marianne Mason is an Associate Professor at James Madison University. Notable publications include The Discourse of Police Interviews (co-edited, 2020) and Courtroom Interpreting (2008). In 2018, she received an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship.
Content
1. Introduction; 2. In the judges' own words: the law and custodial interrogation in the United States; 3. Police interrogation in the United States: from the Reid technique to the high value detainee interrogation group report; 4. The invocation game: the prelude to custodial interrogation; 5. Invocations for counsel, the rulings and the courts: a statistical analysis of the corpus; 6. Police interrogation reform in the United States: paths to consider; Appendices; Index.