Felton Rosulek Laura. Dueling Discourses: The Construction of Reality in Closing Arguments

Oxford University Press, 2015. — xi, 235 pages. — (Oxford Studies in Language and Law). — ISBN: 978–0–19–933762–0.Dueling Discourses offers qualitative and quantitative analyses of the linguistic and discursive forms utilized by opposing lawyers in their closing arguments during criminal trials. Laura Felton Rosulek analyzes how these arguments construct contrasting representations of the same realities, applying the insights and methodologies of critical discourse analysis and systemic functional linguistics to a corpus of arguments from seventeen trials. Her analysis suggests that silencing (omitting relevant information), de-emphasizing (giving information comparatively less attention and focus), and emphasizing (giving information comparatively more attention and focus) are the key communicative devices that lawyers rely on to create their summations. Through these processes, lawyers' lexical, syntactic, thematic, and discursive patterns, both within individual narratives and across whole arguments, function together to create versions of reality that reflect each individual lawyer's goals and biases.The first detailed analysis of closing arguments, this book will significantly improve our understanding of courtroom discourse. Furthermore, as previous research on all genres of discourse has examined exclusion/inclusion and de-emphasis/emphasis as separate issues rather than as steps on a continuum, this book will advance the field of discourse analysis by establishing the ubiquity of these phenomena.The Reasons to Study Closing Arguments
An Overview of Closing Arguments
The Details of the Study Presented in This Book
The Findings in This Book Compared to Previous Understandings
Outline of the Remainder of the Book
The Theoretical Framework
Critical Discourse Analysis
Systemic Functional Linguistics
Discourses and Texts
Functions of Discourses
Discourse as a Reconstruction of Reality
Discourse as Constructions of a Social World
The Factors Shaping Discourses
Silencing, De-Emphasizing, and Emphasizing as Discursive Means for Representing Reality and Constructing Social Worlds
The Defendants
Frequency of Reference
Terms of Reference
The Roles of the Defendants in Clauses
Discussion
The Victims
Frequency of Reference
Terms of Reference
The Roles of the Victims in Clauses
Discussion
The Jurors
The Theoretical Framework
Methodology
Results
Conclusions
The Lawyers
The Representation of the Opposition
Lawyers’ Constructions of Themselves
Conclusions
The Big Picture
Generalizability of the Results
Silencing, De-Emphasizing, and Emphasizing to Explain Previous Findings on Courtroom Discourse
Silencing, De-Emphasizing, and Emphasizing across Genres
Final Thoughts