ABSTRACT
This advanced section looks at the trial, with particular emphasis of processes of truth-finding and evidence, the uses of juries and witnesses, procedures of cross-examination, etc. We look at the realist theories of Jerome Frank about fact-scepticism, and his recommendation for more clearly scientific methods of fact-finding. It also looks at the construction of narratives in the courtroom, at social bias as a potential element in constructing narrative coherence, in terms of how bias is structured into stories, and explains what counts as “plausible” action. The emphasis of this chapter is on the (micro-) dynamics and processes that inform how the truth of the factual basis is “discovered” or fashioned in the courtroom.
