This course provides an introduction to the study of law from linguistic and rhetorical perspectives, with a focus on writing and legal documents. We’ll explore legal language in civil and criminal contexts, read from trial transcripts, hear from an expert in legal writing, and, I hope, visit a court. We’ll also read about the lawyer’s role and becoming a lawyer. Assignments will include analyses of legal documents, presentation of legal cases, and a final paper analyzing an important legal decision from a linguistic or rhetorical perspective.

Textbooks:
Moliterno and Lederer, Law, Law Study, and the Lawyer’s Role, 3rd ed.
Solan and Tiersma, Speaking of Crime: The Language of Criminal Justice
Tiersma, Parchment, Paper, Pixels: Law and the Technologies of Communication
Course packet