Linguist in a POTA Court

When terror confessions are put to expert scrutiny

Interesting case from India, written by PEGGY MOHAN

"When I agreed to assist the defence in the Tiffin Bomb Trial in Ahmedabad by analysing confession statements of the accused, my brief was simple: to convince the POTA Court in Ahmedabad that the confessions could not have been obtained the way the police were claiming. I was to refute the police contention that they were verbatim depositions given freely and written down in real time.
Suspects arrested in India often sign confession statements which they later deny in court, saying that they had signed them under duress. But in a POTA case, they cannot. However, there is nothing in the law that stops an expert witness from seeking to discredit confessions."



 Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/linguist-in-a-pota-court?goback=.nmp_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1

'Total chaos' after pet dog counted on translators' database

There's an old joke about a multilingual dog who says "Miaow" to cats, "Baaa" to sheep and  "Mooo" to cows. However the state of court interpreting in the UK is far from funny.

I have long argued for a far greater understanding and appreciation of the highly complex and skilled tasks of court, legal and forensic interpreting and translating, but interpreters and translators are still considered as barely one step higher than machines in UK Courts:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9742685/Total-chaos-after-pet-dog-counted-on-translators-database.html

Dry labbing

This term is new to me and does not mean a method of preventing a Labrador from slobbering but something far more sinister:
http://www.thesenatorsfirm.com/disturbing-trend-of-dry-labbing-may-be-more-common-than-originally-thought

and

http://chemjobber.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/chemist-faces-charges-for-dry-labbing.html

A semantic anomaly? Does "woman" imply human?

... newspaper names horse as Sportswoman of the Year

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/horseracing/pearson-snubbed-as-newspaper-names-horse-as-sportswoman-of-the-year-20121223-2btac.html#ixzz2Fub0RT5p

This must have implications for juries

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/12/2012/changing-the-world-one-story-at-a-time

The stories that you read and the movies that you watch can have profound effects on you. Reading, and writing, are both immersive experiences.
In a recent study, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to peer into the brains of people who read. Scientists found that when a person reads the word “bicycle,” for example, the area of the brain that controls the leg muscles used when riding a bike “light up.” Similarly, if you read a passage about eating a feast, the area that controls your chewing muscles will activate, while if you read a love scene, portions of your brains that recall emotions become excited. In fact, with every paragraph that a reader reads, dozens of connections are made that the reader doesn’t recognize.
In short, at a subconscious level the reader experiences the tale.

 

Forensic phonetics on the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p7bxw

Lawyer in contempt, says judge

A Victorian lawyer ordered by the Court of Appeal to stop practising until his many appeal matters have been finalised has committed contempt of court, a judge has ruled.
Solicitor David Brian Forster breached a court order put in place in early 2011 prohibiting him from contacting lawyers retained by the legal industry's watchdog, the Legal Services Board, in the board's long-running legal matters against him.
The order was made after Mr Forster, a solicitor for more than 30 years, hand-delivered a letter to the office of the board's barrister, Kristine Hanscombe, SC, which stated he was having "emotionally very disturbing thoughts" towards himself and Dr Hanscombe.
He gave examples of what he perceived to be her unfair behaviour and described her as "vindictive".

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About the same time he had also approached her in court and repeatedly called her a "monster" close to her face and in an intimidating way.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/lawyer-in-contempt-says-judge-20121219-2bmpo.html#ixzz2FUe6zFum

An interesting approach ...

Applying the New Science of Metaphors to Forensic Science Testimony

 http://www.forensicmag.com/article/applying-new-science-metaphors-forensic-science-testimony

Using metaphors to explain concepts and data enhances the scientific testimony’s impact, meaning, and memory-value.

All thinking is metaphorical.
Robert Frost, (quoted in Shibles, 1974)

Forensic scientists are increasingly required to testify about their findings and their professional conclusions.¹ To present clear and compelling testimony, forensic experts need more than their science training. They need effective and evidence-based communication skills. This article describes and illustrates why metaphors are such powerful vehicles for scientific testimony and presents a simple, but extremely effective method to offer clear and compelling forensic science testimony.
Forensic scientists are like translators. They must “translate” scientific procedure and opinion in ways that both educate and persuade jurors. Legal scholars recognize that narrative elements, such as metaphors, effectively negotiate those two world-views, language, and goals.²
Science, especially neuroscience, also tells us that metaphors function as significant cognitive tools for data interpretation and decision-making.³ Lawyers, politicians, war planners, peace planners, advertising and PR professionals, and psychotherapists have long used metaphors as tools to inform and to influence how people frame issues, prioritize choices, and calculate results. Metaphors have climbed out of literature courses and into court testimony.
Neuroscience and Using Forensic Metaphors
Metaphors associate dissimilar concepts across areas of the brain associated both with affect and cognition. The images used in metaphors connect to our own images to form powerful and persuasive cognitive associations. First, they collect neurons together to form constellations of images. “Neurons that fire together, wire together” is the most famous adage in neuroscience.⁴ It means that images and metaphors that ignite memories, thoughts, and feelings bundle together to form constellations of much more powerful thoughts. Because this bundling of neurons takes place across a wide area of the brain, the impact of the metaphor increases geometrically.
The following trial excerpt⁵ depicts how one forensic scientist explained the role of DNA to the jury under direct testimony.

Prosecutor: ...But what is DNA? I mean, we—we know it’s out there. What is it?
Forensic scientist: …It controls how you develop and function. You inherit half your DNA from your mother and half from your father, and the inherent DNA will stay the same throughout your lifetime.

Can you spot the metaphor? “Controls” is not a scientific analysis or description of how DNA works. “Controls” is a metaphor for how DNA works. It’s a metaphor because it connects two different images. We “control” our car. We “control” our TV remote. When the scientist used “controls,” they tapped into all jurors’ images of “control,” so that DNA doesn’t just equal “control.” The metaphor equals all the jurors’ expectations, memories, and motivations for controlling. The use of “control” now clusters with every other neuron connected to “control” in the juror’s mind. Like a word search on the internet yielding a zillion “hits,” the image expands itself ad infinitum. The well-placed metaphor goes viral in the mind of jurors in seconds.

 

Police send Christmas card warnings to criminals

The cards vary depending on whether the criminals are single, or have their own family.

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-send-christmas-card-warnings-to-criminals-8411484.html

 

Criminals are to get Christmas cards from a police force warning them to be on their best behaviour during the festive period.

West Midlands Police is sending the cards to career criminals including burglars, robbers and car thieves living in the region, in the hope that it will prick their consciences.

In the past, other police forces have posted cards in an attempt to bring down the number of thefts which happen at this time of year.

The cards will be mailed in the coming days, and vary depending on whether the criminals are single, or have their own family.

For those with a family, the card's cover features the face of a sad young child gazing out.

It reads: 'All I want for Christmas is for you to be there'.

Letter shows Scotland Yard might have nailed Jack the Ripper on fingerprints, had it heeded a humble country surgeon

Vital clue ignored for 50 years 

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/vital-clue-ignored-for-50-years-8395985.html

 Some of the most notorious criminals of the 19th century, including Jack the Ripper, might have been caught had the authorities heeded the advice of a village surgeon. A letter written in 1840 and up for auction this week bears his suggestion that fingerprints could be used as a tool for solving murders – some 50 years before they came into use for criminal investigations.

Robert Blake Overton, a surgeon in the Norfolk village of Grimstone, wrote a three-page letter of advice after reading about the murder of Lord William Russell on the night of 5 May, 1840 in his Mayfair townhouse. The discovery of a 73-year-old politician in bed with his throat cut was a huge scandal in its day, sparking a major investigation by the Metropolitan Police, then only 10 years old. Having read lurid newspaper reports of bloody handprints on the sheets, Overton wrote to the victim's nephew, Lord John Russell, the future prime minister: "It is not generally known that every individual has a peculiar arrangement [on] the grain of the skin … I would strongly recommend the propriety of obtaining impressions from the fingers of the suspected individual and a comparison made with the marks on the sheets and pillows." He included examples of inky fingerprints to demonstrate his thesis.
His letter was passed to Scotland Yard. It was found among some 700 original documents relating to the investigation of the murder and subsequent trial. The Law Society is selling the collection through Sotheby's in London on Wednesday. It is expected to fetch around £6,000.
Dr Gabriel Heaton, the auctioneer's manuscript specialist, said: "If this idea had been taken up, the whole criminal history of the Victorian period – of the foggy streets and of Sherlock Holmes and of Jack the Ripper – would have looked very different. They'd have had this incredible tool."
He added: "This obscure village surgeon was suggesting the forensic use of fingerprint evidence for identification purposes a full 50 years before the procedure was adopted. It was only in the 1850s that William Hershel began experimenting with fingerprints as a means to identify villagers in India. Decades passed before the identification process was systematised … and it was not until the 1890s that pioneering use was made of fingerprints in criminal investigations. Even Sherlock Holmes did not use fingerprints until 1903.
"Perhaps even Jack the Ripper might have been caught. Instead, this letter was filed away and Overton himself disappears from the history of forensics."
Ironically, though, fingerprint evidence would not have helped to solve Russell's murder. Scotland Yard did look into Overton's suggestion for the case, recording on the back of the letter that, "there were no such marks". But the police failed to draw the wider implication of the idea.
Although a break-in had been staged, Scotland Yard – which at that time did not have a detective department – soon came to believe it was an inside job. Russell's Swiss valet, François Benjamin Courvoisier, was charged, but evidence proving that he had stolen valuables from Russell only came to light during his trial. Russell had discovered the theft, warning Courvoisier he would be dismissed the next morning. Courvoisier panicked and killed him.
The Sotheby's documents include the note passed to the prosecuting attorney that valuables missing from Russell's home had been found at a hotel whose manager could identify the murderer. Courvoisier confessed, and his execution was attended by thousands, including William Makepeace Thackeray, who conveyed his disgust in his anti-capital punishment essay of July 1840, "Going to See a Man Hanged": "I feel myself ashamed and degraded at the brutal curiosity which took me to that brutal sight."

 

Civilise the internet, Leveson demands

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/civilise-internet-leveson-demands

Friday 07 December 2012 by Catherine Baksi

The internet is not out of reach of the law, but new laws are likely to be required to ‘civilise the internet’, the judge charged with investigating the press has suggested.
Speaking at the Communications Law Centre in Australia, Lord Justice Leveson said the internet posed similar tensions between privacy and freedom of expression as the introduction of the penny press, the telephone, wiretap technology and the Kodak snap camera.
He said that it is often perceived that there are no legal consequences to things posted on the internet.
‘Bloggers rejoice in placing their servers outside the jurisdiction where different laws apply. The writ of the law is said not to run. It is believed therefore that the shadow of the law is unable to play the same role it has played with the established media.’
But he said the law already deals with many issues that both the media and the internet throw up. ‘Individuals who tweet or use social media platforms are not beyond the reach of the criminal law,’ he said.
He cited the conviction of two men for inciting a riot via their Facebook page, and the defamation proceedings likely to follow tweeters who wrongly linked a politician to alleged child abuse.
‘In principle there is no reason why individuals who tweet in breach of court orders, including privacy injunctions, cannot be traced via their ISPs [internet service providers] and rendered subject to legal proceedings. The shadow of the law falls on the internet as it does all other aspects of society,’ he stressed.
Given that the internet is ‘not entirely out of the law’s reach’, Leveson argued, it is likely that, as with the media in the 19th century, ‘it will start to have an effect on individuals’ behaviour. It will start to modulate behaviour and curb its wilder excesses’.
‘Time and the proper application of the law will play the same role for the internet as it has done in all other areas of our lives; it will shape our behaviour and help to reinforce social norms,’ he said.
But, Leveson added: ‘Just as it took time for the wilder excesses of the penny press to be civilised, it will take time to civilise the internet.’ While established legal norms are in many respects capable of application to the internet, it is likely that new ones will need to be developed.
But he added that a balance had to be struck - balance between privacy and freedom of expression to ensure they are both safeguarded in an internet age.

Lois McMaster Bujold: Crime Scenes Tend to Be Book-Free Zones

This is curious but strangely compelling article:

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/12/geeks-guide-lois-mcmaster-bujold/

Lois McMaster Bujold, author of the Vorkosigan Saga of space adventure stories, is one of the most acclaimed science fiction authors of all time. She’s won the prestigious Hugo award four times, and every novel she’s written over her 26-year career is still in print. And not only is she entertaining hordes of readers, she may also be fighting crime — at least according to an interview she once read with a forensic pathologist.

“He made the remark, sort of in passing, that he had never gone into a bad crime scene in any house where there were a lot of books,” says Bujold in this week’s episode of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “These were all book-free zones.”
She thinks this may be because books have a unique ability to remove you from your current headspace and transport you into the mind of another person — and hopefully increase your empathy for them. Books are, she feels, the closest thing we have to telepathy, and that this is an aspect of reading all too often ignored in literature courses.
“Escapist literature gets a bad rap,” she observes. “But I think escape is important for a lot of people in a lot of places.”
If it’s true that books make people less violent, then Bujold must be making an ever-growing dent in the crime rate — her latest Vorkosigan novel, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, just became the first of her books to hit the New York Times Best Sellers list.

New Forensic Science Lab for Kashmir

http://kashmirwatch.com/news/print.php/2012/12/05/chief-minister-inaugurates-forensic-lab-at-bemina.phtml

Chief Minister inaugurates forensic lab at Bemina Chief Minister inaugurates forensic lab at Bemina Highlighted role of FSL in punishing culprits Srinagar: (GNS) Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Wednesday inaugurated a new complex for Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Bemina constructed at a cost of 11 crore rupees. In a statement issued to Global News Service, the spokesman said that Omar while highlighting the role of FSL in establishing criminal cases and handing over punishment to the culprits as per the law said “the fast clearance of cases by FSL would give imputes to the investigations and shorten the process of delivering justice”. It was stated on the occasion that Directorate of Forensic Science Services, MHA, Government of India has sanctioned rupees 83 lakhs for creation of two central forensic mobile units, one each at Srinagar and Jammu. “There is also proposal for creation of new divisions of brain mapping, computer cyber crime, DNA profiling and voice identification to make FSL service modern and more proactive,” Omar said. It was also stated that FSL has cleared 2250 cases out of the 3000 referred to it and the achievement in case of narcotics related cases has been 100%. During the current year first ever Forensic Science Conference was held at Srinagar in which 350 delegates from India and other countries participated. The Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, Legislator, Irfan Ahmed Shah, Principal Secretary Home, B. R. Sharma, Director General of Police, Ashok Prasad, Additional Director General Police, K. Rajindra and other senior officers were present on the occasion. (GNS)

Police fear vicious springtime attacks could be drug fuelled ...

The Australian magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen, is a large black and white bird with very protective behaviour:

http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Safe-from-Swooping-Australian-Magpies

The hum that helps to fight crime

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20629671

A rape victim has come forward to the police. She says she has confronted her attacker and has secretly recorded him admitting his guilt.

A suspected terrorist has been taped planning a deadly attack, and the police want to use this evidence in court. Or someone has been captured on CCTV threatening an assault.

Increasingly, recordings like these are playing a role in criminal investigations.

But how can the police be sure that the audio evidence is genuine, that it has not been tampered with or cleverly edited?

Forensic scientists have come up with the answer: they can authenticate these recordings with the help of a hum.

For the last seven years, at the Metropolitan Police forensic lab in south London, audio specialists have been continuously recording the sound of mains electricity.

It is an all pervasive hum that we normally cannot hear. But boost it a little, and a metallic and not very pleasant buzz fills the air.

"The power is sent out over the national grid to factories, shops and of course our homes. Normally this frequency, known as the mains frequency, is about 50Hz," explains Dr Alan Cooper, a senior digital forensic practitioner at the Met Police.
Any digital recording made anywhere near an electrical power source, be it plug socket, light or pylon, will pick up this noise and it will be embedded throughout the audio.
This buzz is an annoyance for sound engineers trying to make the highest quality recordings. But for forensic experts, it has turned out to be an invaluable tool in the fight against crime.
While the frequency of the electricity supplied by the national grid is about 50Hz, if you look at it over time, you can see minute fluctuations.
"It's because the supply and demand is unpredictable," says Dr Cooper.
If millions of people suddenly switch on their kettle after watching their favourite soap, the demand for electricity may outstrip the supply, and the generators will pump out more electricity, and the frequency will go up.
"But when supply is greater than demand, the generators will slow down and the frequency will go down," explains Dr Cooper.
"The grid operators will try and compensate for this, but you can sometimes see some very significant fluctuations."

Unhappy SLAPPing

I've worked on so-called "Happy Slapping" cases (where users of mobile phones film themselves assaulting other people and then broadcast the footage) but this is a different acronym:

 

http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/aggregatedcontent/yelp-reviewer-gets-slapped-with-750k-lawsuit-and-order-to-alter-comments?goback=.gmr_1865660.gde_1865660_member_194612775

 Yelp Reviewer Gets SLAPPed With $750K Lawsuit and Order to Alter Comments

 

A woman is facing a $750,000 defamation lawsuit and has been ordered to alter a negative Yelp review of a home contractor after police found that her claims didn't add up. Dietz Development is claiming that Jane Perez's scathing review has cost them new customers and, on Wednesday, a judge ordered a preliminary injunction for her to edit the post. Yelp and legal critics are worried that Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)-related lawsuits could chill free speech, but business owners say that legal intervention is necessary in an age when online reviews can make or break a company. 

Forensic Linguistics in Court - new case

New Orleans U.S. attorney resigns amid scandal over anonymous online postings

The U.S. attorney in New Orleans, who built a reputation for prosecuting public officials, resigned Thursday in the midst of a federal investigation into two top deputies who used the Internet to anonymously attack people their office was investigating.   ...
The Internet scandal came to light in March when Heebe filed a defamation lawsuit against Perricone. Heebe had been attacked repeatedly by an anonymous critic on the Times-Picayune Web site, and he hired a former FBI agent to track down the critic.
It was not just any former agent. He hired James R. Fitzgerald, whose work as a forensic linguist contributed to the 1996 arrest of “Unabomber” Ted Ka­czynski, who had eluded the FBI for 17 years.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/new-orleans-us-attorney-resigns-amid-scandal-over-anonymous-online-postings/2012/12/06/c95c0d4a-3ef1-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_story.html

Where a witness's "understanding of English" is not “objectively good”

Recent Western Australian case where a NESB witness is cleared by the magistrate with a statement which we as forensic linguists and legal interpreters consider so obvious that we still get surprised that not all courts consider it.

And after a two-day hearing, magistrate Peter Malone [said] the prosecution had not proved at any point Mr Alamdar had witnessed the actual fight - so in turn had not proved he lied to the CCC about what he knew.

Mr Malone also said Mr Alamdar’s understanding of English was not “objectively good”.

“Extreme caution is necessary before one could rely on a literal understanding of what the accused may have stated,” Mr Malone said.

“There are multiple questions within questions and it gives rise to doubts as to what the accused is saying in answering.”


http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/15552748/bikie-witness-misunderstood-questions/

When all else fails (re)read the instructions.

Hardy back in the air after misreading CASA letter

A story which appeals to my twin passions of language and aviation, this all reads like a cross between an exercise in clear legal writing and interpretation and an episode of the BBC Radio comedy series Cabin Pressure

Hardy Aviation planes will return to Northern Territory skies today after what the airline says was a misunderstanding with regulators over its licence.

All Hardy flights were cancelled yesterday when the airline thought it had been grounded by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
But Hardy says it misread a letter sent to it by CASA, which outlined concerns about its pilot training.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-09/hardy-aviation-back-in-action-after-misunderstanding/4417092

Yesterday's story:

NT airline grounded over safety concerns

Updated Sat Dec 8, 2012 4:19pm AEDT

The Northern Territory's biggest airline has been grounded over safety concerns in a move that will affect hundreds of passengers.

Last night the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) told Hardy Aviation to ground all of its 32 planes.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-08/nt-airline-grounded-over-safety-concerns/4416704

Videotaped Confessions Can Create Bias Against A Suspect

Once you get past the ambiguity of the headline this is a very interesting article from 2007, dealing with the effects of camera angle - "camera-perspective bias":

 

ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2007) — Police often videotape interrogations of suspects for use in criminal trials. Video confessions that focus exclusively on the suspect, however, can bias judges and law enforcement officers to consider the suspect’s statements as voluntary, according to a new Ohio University study.

In more than 25 percent of wrongful convictions exonerated by DNA testing, innocent defendants made incriminating statements, delivered outright confessions or pled guilty, according to the Innocence Project. Police interrogation tactics – which include exaggerating the evidence against the suspect or implying the suspect could face an extreme sentence – can prompt a suspect to make a false confession, said Daniel Lassiter, an Ohio University professor of psychology.

In videotaped confessions, many law enforcement agencies focus the camera on only the suspect. Lassiter’s research shows that this practice creates what he calls a camera-perspective bias that leads trial participants to view the confessions as voluntary, regardless of how interrogators obtained them.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070314093304.htm

Links to 3 recent books dealing with false confessions

from
http://www.thejuryexpert.com/

“Only the Guilty Would Confess to Crimes”
: Understanding the Mystery of False Confessions

by

Douglas L. Keene, Ph.D. from Keene Trial Consulting
and Rita R. Handrich, Ph.D. from Keene Trial Consulting

– November 28, 2012http://www.thejuryexpert.com/2012/11/only-the-guilty-would-confess-to-crimes%E2%80%A8-understanding-the-mystery-of-false-confessions/

False Confessions: “I Can’t Believe I Said That”

by

Diane Wiley from NJP Litigation Consulting

– November 28, 2012
 http://www.thejuryexpert.com/2012/11/false-confessions-i-cant-believe-i-said-that/

 

Book Review: Police Interrogations and False Confessions: Current Research, Practice, and Policy Recommendations

http://www.thejuryexpert.com/2012/11/book-review-police-interrogations-and-false-confessions-current-research-practice-and-policy-recommendations/

Rita R. Handrich, Ph.D. from http://www.keenetrial.com/

The comments by other readers also make interesting reading, particularly as not all are positive.

See in particular

http://blog.simplejustice.us/2012/12/01/first-best-lie.aspx

Video-taped confession to murder - convincing argument on both prosecution and defence sides?

Interesting addition to threats/ransom corpus

 

Alleged Kidnapper Claims He "Accidentally" Killed Baby, Grandmother

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Alleged-Kidnapper-Claims-He-Accidentally-Killed-Baby-Grandmother--181207131.html



The man charged in the murder of an infant and her grandmother during a botched kidnapping and ransom scheme, claimed that he killed both victims by accident, according to video released during his court appearance Wednesday.

Yandamuri's defense attorney argued in court that since his client did not mean to kill anyone, first-degree murder should be taken off the table. Prosecutors disagreed however, citing Yandamuri's ransom note as evidence against the attorney's claim.

According to prosecutors, 10 copies of the ransom note were left in the apartment of the Venna family with several references that if they didn't bring $50,000 by 8 p.m. that night that the baby would be killed. Prosecutors say that showed there was intention and premeditation for murder. The judge agreed with the prosecutors and ordered that Yandamuri stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, theft and abuse of corpse

Comparison of Egypt's suspended and draft constitutions

(from the BBC)      Egypt's Islamist-dominated constituent assembly has approved a controversial draft of the country's new constitution in a session boycotted by most liberals, secularists and Christians.

Critics have warned the draft could impose a more Islamic system on Egypt, and that it fails to guarantee the equality of men and women.
The BBC News website compares the 1971 constitution, which was suspended following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, and the draft charter, which must be passed by a popular referendum.

1971 constitution (suspended)	2012 draft constitution
Identity of the state: "The Arab Republic of Egypt is a democratic state based on citizenship. The Egyptian people are part of the Arab Nation and work for the realisation of its comprehensive unity."	Identity of the state: "The Arab Republic of Egypt is an independent state with unified sovereignty that cannot be divided. Its system is democratic. The Egyptian nation is a part of the Arabic and Islamic nations (Umma). It is proud to belong to the Basin of the Nile and Africa, as well as of its Asian extensions."
Islam and Sharia (Islamic law): Article 2 says: "Islam is the religion of the state and Arabic is its official language. The principles of Sharia are the main source of legislation."	Islam and Sharia: Article 2 stays as it is, but Article 219 is new. It states: "The principles of Sharia include general evidence and foundations, rules and jurisprudence as well as sources accepted by doctrines of Sunni Islam and the majority of Muslim scholars."
Religious minorities: No article in the old constitution.	Religious minorities: "The principles of the legislations for Christian and Jewish Egyptians are the main source of legislation that organises their civil status and religious affairs."
Religion: "The state shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practice of religious rites."	Religion: Article 43 says: "The state shall guarantee the freedom of faith and the freedom of practice of religious rites and the right to establish worshipping places for monotheist religions based on law"; Article 44 adds: "Insulting prophets and messengers is forbidden"; but Article 45 states: "Freedom of opinion and thought is guaranteed. Every person has the right to express his opinion orally or in writing, pictures or other means of publication and expression."
Al-Azhar: No mention of al-Azhar University or its scholars was included in the 1971 constitution.	Al-Azhar: "Al-Azhar is an independent and a comprehensive entity. It takes the task of preaching Islam in Egypt and in the whole world. Scholars of al-Azhar should be consulted in all matters related to Sharia."
Democracy and Shura (consultation): "The political system is based on pluralism."	Democracy and Shura (consultation): "The political system is based on principles of democracy and on Shura."
Women: Article 10 says: "The state shall guarantee the protection of motherhood and childhood, take care of children and youth and provide suitable conditions for the development of their talents"; Article 11 adds: "The state shall guarantee the proper balance between the duties of women towards the family and their work in society, considering their equal status with men in the fields of political, social, cultural and economic life without violation of the rules of Islamic jurisprudence."	Women: The new Article 10 says: "The state shall provide motherhood and childhood services for free. It shall also guarantee co-ordination between the duties of the woman and her public work. The state shall provide protection and care for the divorced and widowed woman". Article 30 states that "citizens are equal before the law and equal in rights and obligations without discrimination", but there is no explicit guarantee of women's rights.
Rights and freedoms: The chapter of rights and freedoms included 24 articles.	Rights and freedoms: The new constitution includes 51 articles on personal rights, political and moral rights, economic and social rights, guarantees for protecting rights and freedoms. The new Article 73 says: "Enforced employment, slavery and sex trade are deemed acts punishable by law." The draft does not not include a clear ban on human trafficking or an obligation to adhere to international rights treaties.
Military: No article in the old constitution.	Military: "It is not allowed to try civilians before military tribunals unless in cases for crimes that damage the armed forces."
Media: No article in the old constitution.	Media: Article 48 states: "Media organisations cannot be suspended, closed or their assets be confiscated unless there is a judicial decree"; Article 49 adds: "Notification only is required to launch and own newspapers."
Judiciary: No article in the old constitution.	Judiciary: "The Supreme Constitutional Court is formed of a president and 10 members." It currently has a president and 18 members.
Presidential mandate: "The mandate of the president is six years, starting from the results of the elections; the president can be re-elected for an unlimited number of new terms."	Presidential mandate: "The mandate of the president is four years starting from the results of the elections; the president can only be re-elected for a second term, not more."
	Political ban on the former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP): Article 232 says: "Leaders of the dissolved NDP are banned from all political activities, or from running for presidential or legislative elections for 10 years, from the day when this constitution is adopted in a referendum. Those who are considered 'leaders' are all members of the general secretariat of the NDP, members of the political bureau, political committee, and MPs during the last two legislative sessions pre-revolution."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20555478

"Not understandable"

I am intrigued by what is meant by "not understandable" and what was done to attempt to make it "understandable", and if so, by whom. 

 Apparent Taped Confession Thrown Out of Teen’s Murder Case

By ABQnews Staff on Wed, Aug 1, 2012

 

POSTED AT: 11:26 am

A judge tossed out what investigators call a taped confession in the case of a teen accused of killing his dad on a hunting trip, KRQE reported.
In November 2010, Thomas Manning, then 16, was on a hunting trip with his father, Jeffrey Scott Manning, in Grant County when he allegedly shot him in the back of the head, court documents showed.
Court records showed that Manning told detectives he killed his father and didn’t feel bad about it. On the night of the murder, detectives recorded an apparent taped confession.
On Tuesday, though, a judge ruled that the audio of the recording is not understandable and can’t be used in Manning’s case, KRQE said. Manning’s lawyers also requested that the detectives who questioned Manning be  kept out of the case as well, so they can’t recite what they claim was in the confession.
Manning is charged with murder and will be tried as an adult.


 He was found mentally fit to stand trial in March:   http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/03/07/abqnewsseeker/teen-accused-of-killing-father-mentally-fit-for-trial.html.


Read previous coverage on the Manning case here.

Paul Haigh murder confessions.

These statements and confessions by Paul Haigh make very interesting reading for both investigators and linguists.

This link provides more links to the actual confessions and statements.
An extract

Tattslotto Murder.

This agency was not originally going to be held up.

Rather, I was intending to assault the money bearer as the takings were transferred, and obtain the spoils in this fashion. As I became impatient, I later decided to dispense with the pugilism and to extract the takings at gunpoint.

Essential addition to threats corpus?

A 200-year-old letter written by Napoleon Bonaparte in which he vows to blow up the Kremlin has been sold at auction for 150,000 euros (£122,000). The letter, which dates from Napoleon's ill-fated invasion of Russia, was bought by the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts in Paris.

It is written in code and was sold alongside a deciphered transcript. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20572136

Facebook bans woman after she reposts death threat

Facebook has banned an Icelandic woman from the social networking site after she took a screen grab of a death threat another user made against her and reposted it on her own profile.

Hildur Lilliendahl Viggósdóttir, a well-known Icelandic women’s rights campaigner, took a screen grab of a death threat directed at her by another user on their Facebook profile. However, the social network’s terms of service do not allow users to take screenshots of and then repost Facebook statuses without the express and written permission of the author – so she has been given a 30-day ban. Lilliendahl Viggosdottir, who works as a civil servant at the Reykjavik City Hall, has caused waves in Iceland with her popular Facebook album: ‘Men Who Hate Women’ – in which she posts screenshots of sexist comments made by men. Stefán Heiðar Erlingsson, a fellow Icelandic Facebook user, publicly posted the following Facebook status update about the album, according to the Reykjavik Grapevine magazine: “If I 'accidentally' ran over Hildur, she is probably the only person on earth that I would back up over, and leave the car on top of her with the hand brake on!!!;) Put this in your 'men who hate Hildur' folder, Hildur Lilliendahl." Lilliendahl Viggosdottir then took a screen grab of the threat and duly added it to her album. From the Daily Telegraph.

Search for missing Spitfires in Burma due to begin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20515659 Work is due to start in January to unearth dozens of missing British Spitfires believed to have been buried in the Burmese jungle at the end of World War II. What began as one man's quest to discover the truth of claims that unused unassembled aircraft were packed into crates and buried by the RAF in Burma in 1945 has captured the imagination of a war games company and a team of experts, including archaeologists and scientists. They all gathered at the Imperial War Museum in London on Wednesday to outline their plans for the dig, due to get under way in the New Year. It is thought 36 planes could be lying undiscovered in Mingaladon - one of three sites where it is believed as many as 60 Spitfires in total may be located.

"It could also be one of the most fascinating discoveries in aviation archaeology” Andy Brockman Project archaeologist Farmer and aviation enthusiast David Cundall, from Lincolnshire, is spearheading the dig, having spent 16 years and thousands of pounds already researching the project. "I have been flying airplanes for 45 years and been digging up sites looking for military aircraft for 36 years. It's in my blood," he said. After hearing the story of the buried planes, he sought out eyewitness accounts from American and British service personnel, as well as local people, who told him how scores of brand new Mark XIV Spitfires were buried in 1945 under the orders of Lord Mountbatten. He said one local Burmese man recalled how, as a 15-year-old, he and his father had transported timber that had been used as the Spitfires were buried. The local man led him to the spot where the planes had been put. Clues found But aside from these eyewitnesses, all the experts have uncovered so far are tantalising signs of increased electrical conductivity found in two areas during an electromagnetic survey. This could in turn indicate the presence of buried metal at around 10 metres deep

WWII pigeon message stumps GCHQ decoders

WWII pigeon message stumps GCHQ decoders http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20456782

The BBC's Gordon Corera says the code "may never be cracked" Britain's top code-breakers say they are stumped by a secret code found on the leg of a dead pigeon. The remains of the bird were found in a chimney in Surrey with a message from World War II attached. Experts at the intelligence agency GCHQ have been struggling to decipher the message since they were provided with it a few weeks ago. They say it may be impossible to decode it without more information - some of which could come from the public. The message was discovered by David Martin when he was renovating the chimney of his house in Surrey. Among the rubbish, he found parts of a dead pigeon including a leg. Attached to the leg was a red canister. Inside the canister was a thin piece of paper with the words "Pigeon Service" at the top and 27 handwritten blocks of code.

This sounds like a fascinating conference with important ramifications for forensic linguistics (discourse analysis etc):

BYDGOSZCZ, POLAND 23-24 MAY 2013

http://impolin.com.pl/

The proposed topics for papers include, but are not limited to: theoretical frameworks - Neo-Gricean approaches to impoliteness - Discursive approaches to impoliteness - Relevance-theoretic approach to impoliteness - Cognitive linguistics in impoliteness research - Corpus-based studies of impoliteness - Sociolinguistic aspects of impoliteness - Pragmatic approaches to impoliteness, etc. Categories of description - disagreement - rudeness - ignorance - aggravation - offence - verbal aggression - sarcasm - mock politeness - humour and impoliteness - using taboo words - swearing and expletives, etc. Possible scope of empirical studies - impoliteness in translation (including literary and audiovisual translation, in particular in subtitles) - impoliteness in computer-mediated discourse - impoliteness in courtship setting - impoliteness in educational setting - impoliteness in institutional setting - impoliteness in interpersonal setting (face-face and multi-party conversations) - impoliteness across dialects and genres - impoliteness and power - impoliteness and identity - impoliteness and miscommunication - intentional and unintentional impoliteness - impoliteness perception and interpretation - impoliteness strategies - impoliteness and rapport management - linguistic and nonlinguistic impoliteness - impoliteness and prosody - multimodal approaches to impoliteness, etc.

An excellent Law and Linguistics blog: http://lawnlinguistics.com/briefs/

What is Forensic Linguistics?

US linguist Peter Tiersma provides this excellent definition at: http://www.languageandlaw.org/FORENSIC.HTM Forensic linguists are involved in many areas that relate to crime, both solving crime and absolving people wrongly accused of committing crimes. Some of these areas of research and expertise include: voice identification (for instance, determining whether the voice on a threatening tape recording was that of the defendant; sometimes also called forensic phonetics) author identification (determining who wrote a particular text by comparing it to known writing samples of a suspect; sometimes also called forensic stylistics) discourse analysis (analyzing the structure of a writing or spoken utterance, often coverly recorded, to help determine issues such as who is introducing topics or whether a suspect is agreeing to engage in a criminal conspiracy) linguistic proficiency (did a suspect understand the Miranda warning or police caution?) dialectology (determining which dialect of a language a person speaks, usually to show that a defendant has a different dialect from that on an incriminating tape recording. As opposed to voice identification, which analyzes the acoustic qualities of the voice, dialectology uses linguistic features to accomplish similar goals) "linguistic origin analysis" (this is my term for the process of trying to determine what a person's native language is, often for purposes of granting or denying applications for political asylum. A more common term is "language analysis," but that term is overly broad, it seems to me. Note that linguistic origin analysis is very similar to what we might call forensic dialectology) "linguistic veracity analysis" (again, I think I may have invented this term, but it refers to various linguistically-inspired methods for determining whether a speaker or writer was being truthful) These areas of research have varying degrees of acceptability or reliability within the field. Thus, voice identification, if done by a qualified phonetician who understands the limitations of the methodology and findings, is accepted as being relatively reliable (although whether it meets evidentiary standards of the courts is another issue, especially when the analysis is done by a technician based on machine analysis of the voice). See Peter Tiersma and Lawrence Solan, The Linguist on the Witness Stand: Forensic Linguistics in American Courts, 78 Language 221-39 (2002).

One of my favourite forensic museums

The Hans Grossman Museum at the University of Graz (Austria) has a fascinating collection of exhibits, and is well worth a visit. The early crime scene reports, pre photography, are meticulously hand-written and offer a rare insight into early forensic and crime scene investigation.
http://www.uni-graz.at/communication/news/audio_slide/files/Kriminalmuseum.mp4 („Stimmen der Kulturwissenschaften (Institut für Geschichte der Uni Wien) – Interview zur Kriminalwissenschaft mit Christian Bachhiesl“ )

Confidential destruction - a forensic scientist's obligation

Confidential confetti: Legible pieces of police documents found among confetti at Thanksgiving Day parade - Pieces of Nassau County Police documents were found among this year’s confetti at the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York - - Many of them include full social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers and license plate numbers -Some of the paper strips apparently include details about Mitt Romney's motorcade from the final presidential debate - The confetti strips even identify local undercover police detectives by name : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238005/Confidential-confetti-Legible-pieces-police-documents-confetti-Thanksgiving-Day-parade.html#ixzz2DGvYMmi4

Creative morphology

Nice word - UNDISCOVER http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/where-did-it-go-scientists-undiscover-pacific-island-20121122-29ro4.html Most explorers dream of discovering uncharted territory, but a team of Australian scientists have done the exact opposite. They have found an island that doesn't exist. Even onboard the ship, the weather maps the captain had showed an island in this location. Dr Maria Seton, University of Sydney The island, named Sandy Island on Google Earth, also exists on marine charts and world maps and allegedly sits between Australia and New Caledonia in the south Pacific. The island that isn't ... how it is highlighted on a map The island that isn't ... how it is highlighted on a map But when the voyage's chief scientist, Maria Seton, and her crew sailed past where the island should be, they found nothing but blue ocean. Advertisement "We became suspicious when the navigation charts used by the ship showed a depth of 1400 metres in an area where our scientific maps and Google Earth showed the existence of a large island," Dr Maria Seton, a geologist from the University of Sydney, said. "Somehow this error has propagated through to the world coastline database from which a lot of maps are made."

Cab audio recordings spark police 'eavesdrop' fears

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/cab-audio-recordings-spark-police-eavesdrop-fears-20121122-29sw5.html

Forensic Linguistics in the Philippines

An excellent article about the introduction of Forensic Linguistics to the Philippines FORENSIC LINGUISTICS Educators Speak By MARILU RAÑOSA-MADRUNIO, Ph.D. - UST November 3, 2012, 7:29pm THERE is a new subfield of linguistics – the scientific study of language – that has attracted attention and it is called Forensic Linguistics (or FL). In a recent summer school held for the first time in Asia, I was fortunate to study under Prof. Malcolm Coulthard of Aston University, United Kingdom, and Prof. John Gibbons of Monash University, Australia. Together they founded the professional organization for FL in 1993 and they subsequently headed the International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL), an organization of forensic linguists and researchers worldwide. Profs. Coulthard and Gibbons brought the first training on FL to Asia last July in collaboration with Dr. Azirah Hashim of the University of Malaya under the auspices of the International Summer School in Forensic Linguistic Analysis (ISSFLA). While this subfield has been explored in European countries and the US for some time now, it is just catching the attention of scholars in Asia. The University of Santo Tomas, which I represented during the training, is a lead institution from the Philippines that intends to offer the course as part of its graduate degree program. Please follow the link to read the whole article.

It's not all Big Bad Brother ...

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Nice article on approaching ambiguity in contracts

http://www.callawyer.com/Clstory.cfm?eid=891636

Admitting Extrinsic Evidence in California

February 2008

 

 

 

By Cassandra S. Franklin
     
For years, courts and commentators have debated the circumstances under which extrinsic evidence should be admitted when interpreting contracts.
      According to the "plain meaning" school of thought endorsed by acclaimed contract expert Samuel Williston, extrinsic evidence should be admitted to aid construction of a contract only if the document appeared ambiguous on its face. (See Samuel Williston, A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF CONTRACTS, §§ 610, 618 (3d. ed. 1961).)
      By contrast, Williston's contemporary, Arthur Linton Corbin, advocated that even the most apparently plain and clear language should be interpreted in light of the circumstances that surrounded the inception of an agreement. (3 Arthur Linton Corbin, CORBIN ON CONTRACTS, § 579 (1960).) Under this approach, any kind of relevant evidence, including extrinsic evidence, may be used to prove the interceding and surrounding circumstances that might shed light on the meaning each party knew the other would impute to the words.
      As Corbin recognized, the plain meaning rule merely supplants the extrinsic evidence of the parties with that of the court. That is, the court is "making an interpretation on the sole basis of the extrinsic evidence of its own linguistic experience and education, of which it merely takes judicial notice." (Arthur Linton Corbin, The Interpretation of Words and the Parol Evidence Rule, 50 CORNELL L. Q. 161 at 189 (1965).) The Corbin approach advocates instead that language is malleable and the meaning of a word depends on its context.
      Even Oliver Wendell Holmes, often thought of as a plain meaning champion, noted more than a century ago: "It is not true that in practice (and I know no reason why theory should disagree with the facts) a given word or even a given collocation of words has one meaning and no other. A word generally has several meanings, even in the dictionary." (Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Theory of Legal Interpretation, 12 HARV. L. REV. 417 at 417 (1899). See also, Towne v. Eisner, 245 U.S. 418 at 425 (1918): "A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.") (Holmes, J.).)
  
Please follow link for rest of article

Corinna Marr case

Judge decides the tape cannot be played in court:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/secret-corinna-marr-tape-cannot-be-played-in-supreme-court-defamation-case/story-e6frea83-1226519480854

 Name-calling re-visited ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20325517

Twitter, libel and free speech

Is the current Twitter furore in the UK is redefining "free speech"? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20383782

For anyone following the Corinna Marr case in Adelaide, Australia, the judge is currently making a decision on the admissibility of a secretly recorded police interview:

http://www.news.com.au/national/marr-boss-taped-police-interview-for-my-safety/story-fndo4dzn-1226517617530

THE FORMER boss of murdered model Corinna Marr says he secretly recorded a 2008 police interview because he believed the investigation was poorly handled and that he feared for his safety.
Colin Todd was Ms Marr's boss at a Firle real estate agency when she was shot dead in the bedroom of her Collinswood unit on the afternoon of July 4, 1997.
Mr Todd told the Supreme Court today that he had hidden a digital recorder in a bowl of fruit when he was interviewed by Detective Senior Sergeant John Keane and another detective in the kitchen of his home on October 23, 2008.
"The sole purpose of the actual recording was because of my safety," he said.
Mr Todd said he feared for his safety because he and a friend had gathered material on the murder when he became frustrated with his perceived lack of progress by police.
"There is a murderer out there and the situation is that if they get wind that we have been looking into the murder, you just don't know what could happen."

Mr Todd was called to give evidence to help Justice Trish Kelly determine whether the secret recording could be used in the defamation trial brought by suspect and former photographer Derick Sands, who is suing the state over claims police ruined his life by outing him as a suspect.
He said Det Snr Sgt Keane had rejected his assertion that he did not believe Mr Sands was the killer and that police should have investigated Ms Marr's husband Robert further.
Lawyers for Mr Sands are seeking to have the recording tendered as evidence in order to prove Det Snr Sgt Keane had omitted information provided by Mr Todd when he typed up the statement.
Crown lawyer Darrell Trim QC has objected to the tape being used in evidence and claimed Mr Todd and Mr Sands' legal team could have committed an offence under the Listening Devices Act by seeking to do so.

http://gizmodo.com/5959509/apples-going-to-have-to-pay-all-of-samsungs-legal-fees-because-it-didnt-apologize-well-enough

and

http://gizmodo.com/5956268/apple-posts-its-apology-to-samsung-but-for-real-this-time?tag=apple-vs-samsung

Very interesting linguistics in all this ...

"After trying to be snarky and biting with its court ordered apology to Samsung, and being reprimanded by the UK court and told to fix it, Apple has now put a second, simple, much less back-handledly "Samsung's dumb and we're the coolest" apology on their UK webpage.  briefly, that a recent court decision, although the judgment found that Samsung's Galaxy tablets do not infringe on the iPad design, it "has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeals of England and Wales" on Oct. 18. "There is no injunction in respect of the community registered design in force anywhere in Europe," This was on Apple's web page in small, unclear print. 

Apple later complied with the judgment: "That statement was inaccurate and did not comply with the order of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The correct statement is:

Samsung / Apple UK judgment

On 9 July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computers, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s Community registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of
the High Court is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.
That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the Community registered design in force anywhere in Europe."

 

Police seizure of text messages violated 4th Amendment, judge rules

But legality of warrantless cell phone seizures is still unsettled nationwide (nb. in the US for this particular example):

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/police-seizure-of-text-messages-violated-4th-amendment-judge-rules/

An old link (September 2011) but interesting discussion on forensic audio evidence

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/audio-evidence-in-court-cases/3589942

The semantics of "drive" and a useful definition of a non-motorised vehicle: Kentucky law (KRS 189.520) prohibits the operation of a non-motorized vehicle (a vehicle that is not a motor vehicle) while under the influence of intoxicants or substance which may impair a person’s driving ability. That includes, those who are riding horses, bicycles, skateboards, etc.
 (http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/Man-on-horse-arrested-for-DUI-170100436.html)

The difference between a "vehicle" and a "motor vehicle": usually laws are amended or written to keep up with modern technology, but this is an interesting example of legislation being reworded to incorporate something the legislators had presumably forgotten still existed: "Wording in Section 265 of the Road Traffic Code relating to use of mobile phones was changed in March 2011 from "using a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle” to "using a mobile phone while driving a vehicle.”

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/horses-for-courses-not-for-mobile-phones/story-e6frg13u-1226475913273

F you have been caught out by a carefully placed speed camera while driving home from work, spare a thought for Swan Valley identity Ross Gundry.

Mr Gundry, who has run Swan Valley Wagon Trails for the past 14 years, was recently nabbed by a local copper for using a mobile phone while driving his Clydesdale horse Toffee down West Swan Road.

Mr Gundry, 56, said he was flabbergasted when pulled over by a motorcycle patrolman and issued with a ticket for $250.

"I’ve been operating all over Perth in the wagon trail business for more than 25 years and I’ve always used my mobile phone, believing that a horse-drawn vehicle was OK,” he said.

"After all, I’m only travelling at 2km/h.”

He said nine-year-old Toffee had regularly driven the Swan Valley route for the past four years and could "probably do it on her own”.

- and another example, this time DYI Forensic Acoustics:
http://kevinunderhill.typepad.com/Documents/Opinions/Ohio_v_Freitag.pdf (police officer testified that he "was trained to audibly determinenwherther a vehicale is speeding".)

"Esquire" Could Mean Lots of Things, Says Guy Not Licensed to Practice Law

or forensic linguistics, one might claim:

There are plenty of lawyers running around California, but there's likely to be one less in the near future.
Actually, it's not accurate to call John Mark Heurlin a "lawyer" at the moment, which is the whole point of this latest proceeding against him (the fourth or fifth depending on how you count). The first three involved fees. For example, in 2005 he was suspended for (among other things) refusing to turn over settlement money to his client because of a fee dispute. Mishandling client money is one of the cardinal sins of legal ethics, and here it contributed to a lengthy suspension. The order said Heurlin could seek reinstatement after two years, but he never did.
Nor did he ever actually stop practicing law.
This is a problem not just because the bar told him to stop but also because the unauthorized practice of law is a misdemeanor in California (like most places). According to this 2011 order, Heurlin didn't tell his partners he had been suspended, and when they found out (from opposing counsel), they voted to dissolve the partnership and they have all been fighting over the assets ever since. In the course of that fight and related matters, Heurlin continued to hold himself out as an attorney, using letterhead that said "Attorney at Law," signing his name "John M. Heurlin, Esq.," and signing a declaration stating that he was licensed to practice law in California. In 2011, citing this and the prior misconduct, the bar court recommended that he be disbarred.
One aggravating factor, the judge noted, was that Heurlin insisted there was nothing wrong with this, even though he was told by the Court of Appeal back in 2006 that it was troubled by his "cavalier" attitude toward his suspension (which at the time he was referring to as his "disability"). Five years later, his attitude had not improved:

Despite the appellate court's clear warnings and the legal authority it had provided to him, respondent argued before this court that terms such as “Esq.,” and “counselor at law,” “have no meaning in the State of California.”... At trial, respondent cross-examined witnesses about Esquire magazine in an attempt to show that the use of the honorific “Esq.” after the name of a suspended attorney … has no legal significance ….

For those of you thinking, that can't mean what I think it means, oh yes it can. It is a little clearer in the more recent ruling on Heurlin's appeal of the recommendation:

Heurlin further argues that the word "Esquire" has many meanings, including that of property owner and subscriber to the magazine Esquire. This argument is unconvincing because we do not focus on a single usage of a particular word [but rather] the context of the words and the general course of conduct.

(Emphasis added.) Yes, that's true. It's also unconvincing because, for example, no human being on the face of the Earth would ever put "Esq." after his name to indicate that he subscribes to Esquire. Let me know if I'm wrong about this, by all means. Yours sincerely, M. Kevin Underhill, J.D., Esq., Sci. Am., Nat. Geo., Sprts. Ill. (Swimsuit).
Heurlin's position appears to be that he can describe himself as an attorney because he is representing himself, a position that cannot be described as correct. From here, the recommendation goes to the state supreme court, which I am guessing will accept it. Whether or not that will matter to this guy remains to be seen.

One source of data for the forensic linguist is the extortion note - but when the alleged extortioner marks the letters "Ëxtortion Notice" and does little to hide his identity, there is (sadly for us) no need to call in a forensic linguist.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2211855/Vivek-Shah-Indictment-shows-actors-chilling-extortion-threat-victims-like-Harvey-Weinstein.html

Part of the indictment (from TheSmokingGun) 

Welcome to Forensically Blogging - the official blog of AudioLex Forensics and JCAAT Consulting

- we have modernised our printed newsletter "Forensically Speaking" and launched ourselves - with certain trepidation but great enthusiasm - into the blogosphere.

And about time too, we suspect, given that our office technology has moved, over the last 20+ years, from a huge old drum spectrogram with its own laboratory to a software programme on desktop or laptop, from downloading audio files a few Mb at a time in separate files or physically collecting evidence to using on-line systems for instant access from just about anywhere. Police interviews are  now recorded, so no more wading through badly type-written notes of interviews because our client claims he was verballed. I can discuss something with my favourite Arabic interpreter in Australia by email rather than driving through a blizzard to try talking to a less than helpful one in [UK city deleted] ...

So ... what else new?

Social media like blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on have not only revolutionised the way we connect with friends, families, clients and colleagues (not to mention opposing experts), but have also provided a very rich source of forensic linguistic evidence. More on this later, but an interesting case still being argued is the Paul Ceglia / Mark Zuckerberg Facebook case.

I'll be using this blog to provide links to and comments on cases in and out of the news, technology, techniques, conferences and other events, publications and anything else that you the reader(s) or I think is useful or interesting. Hopefully we can get some contributions and discussions going. (Preferably but not mandatorily in English!)

Here are some to start with:

Case report "Mi Casa no es tu Kazaa"  

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/14/kazaa_german_trademark/

part of the discussion: The second syllable of Casa starts with the letter 's', while the mark applied for Kazaa contains the quite unusual letter 'z', Sharman argued. Moreover, the double letter 'a' is atypical in the German language. From a phonetic point of view, Casa is pronounced as the Spanish word 'casa', with the emphasis on the first syllable 'ca' and a soft and short sound for the second syllable. The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, however, came to the conclusion that the trade marks indeed are phonetically similar in the German language.

Next Forensic Linguistics Conference:

11th Biennial Conference on Forensic Linguistics/Language and Law

11th Biennial Conference on Forensic Linguistics/Language and Law
of the International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL)
24th-27th June, 2013
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM
(National Autonomous University of Mexico)

 Proposed Legislation

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/right-to-silence-law-changed-20120814-2462p.html

The right to silence will be watered down under changes announced today by the O'Farrell government as part of its response to bikie gang violence.
People will be warned that they may risk harming their defence in court if they refuse to give police information about a crime under proposed new laws.

It's been too easy to say: 'I have nothing to say'. Jurors are smart enough to know if there is something suspicious about evidence which suddenly appears at a trial and is designed to get the accused off. 

The caution police now give is: "You are not obliged to say or do anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you say or do may be used in evidence. Do you understand?"
This will be changed to: "You are not obliged to say or do anything unless you wish to do so. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say and do may be given in evidence. Do you understand?" (follow link for rest of article)