Telling and retelling your story in court: Questions, assumptions, and intercultural implications

Abstract

This article presents a sociolinguistic examination of the ways in which stories are told and retold in the criminal justice process, particularly in court. The main argument concerns the fundamental contradictions between everyday storytelling and retelling on the one hand, and the expectations and interpretations of storytelling and retelling in court on the other. Drawing on research on police interviews, lawyer interviews and courtroom talk, the article examines issues such as consistency and inconsistency, and the role of questions in shaping a person's story. While there are a number of distinctive assumptions and practices in the culture of the law which are not shared in the wider Australian community, there are particular implications for Aboriginal people, who are still 20 times more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system than non-Aboriginal people. These implications are introduced and exemplified, and the article concludes by raising questions about alternative approaches to storytelling and retelling in court.