Judicial understandings of Aboriginality and language use

Abstract

The prominent focus on Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system over the past 25 years has paid greatest attention to accused people. This article turns the spotlight to Aboriginal witnesses in courts (including defendants and plaintiffs) and specifically to ways in which judicial officers understand Aboriginal identities, practices and cultures, as these factors impact on communication. The functioning of the legal process centres on fundamental questions about whose story can be believed, or which parts of which stories can be believed, and in these questions Aboriginal identity and culture can be important considerations.