Estrategias discursivas en los tribunales de justicia: algunas observaciones sobre el discurso legal oral

Abstract

Conceived within the theoretical framework of the ethnography of communication proposed by Hymes, this paper examines the discursive strategies employed by attorneys and analyzes the linguistic mechanisms that organize the oral legal discourse in the courts ofjustice of Puerto Rico. Transcripts of instances of cross-examinations and re-cross examinations of real cases were evaluated. I analyzed the form of the questions and the way the attorneys engage the topic, as well as identified evaluative comments and epistemological filters. This allowed me to determine how the relative power of the participants affects what is said (content), how it is said (form), and how these speech acts will be understood.