ABSTRACT
The comprehensibility of jury instructions has been an issue in forensic discourse analysis over the years. The literature in forensic linguistics reports numerous occasions where the presence of non-legal professionals in the courtroom is seen as an ‘intrusion’ by judges and other senior figures. The indication is that jurors often have trouble understanding the judicial instructions delivered to them. For example, the presiding judge’s five-part instruction in the inquest into the death of Princess Diana was extremely difficult to follow even in the watered-down versions disseminated through press releases. One way of accessing legal discourse without falling foul of the authorities is to draw on web resources. There are a number of useful websites that offer detailed summings-up, rulings on case histories and sometimes transcriptions of the trial proceedings. The All-England Law Reports database is a well-organized bank of legal data and case histories.
