Analysing Conversations in Forensic Settings, Volume II

This book examines how discursive psychology and ethnomethodological conversation analysis illuminate criminal justice practices across diverse institutional, procedural and cultural contexts. Building on the foundational interactional analyses of Analysing Conversations in Forensic Settings, Volume I, this second volume brings together comparative, thematic and cross jurisdictional studies that reveal how criminal justice work is organised, negotiated and contested through talk.

Drawing on authentic recordings from varied legal settings, chapters in this collection explore how participants construct credibility, evidence, risk, responsibility and institutional authority in real time encounters. The volume shows how broader organisational, statutory and policy frameworks shape and are shaped by the interactional practices of police officers, legal professionals, witnesses and suspects. Through detailed analyses, contributors demonstrate how institutional norms, procedural expectations and cultural assumptions surface in the fine grained details of speech, influencing outcomes and shaping the lived experience of justice.

By foregrounding comparative perspectives and expanding the empirical terrain beyond the settings featured in Volume I, Volume II offers a wider lens on how criminal justice institutions accomplish their work through language. It speaks directly to scholars in criminology, psychology, sociology and forensic linguistics, as well as practitioners seeking evidence based insights into how justice is enacted, negotiated and challenged across different systems and contexts.