ABSTRACT
Fields including conversation analysis have shown that everyday verbal interaction is highly structured and rule-governed. This chapter aims to describe courtroom discourse more precisely, by looking at how the verbal interaction involved consists of specific moves and sequences. It considers the higher-order organisation of courtroom discourse into episodes, as an overall genre. The chapter explores how different levels of organisation of courtroom discourse are connected and why this matters. An early description of courtroom speech patterns, drawing on the then emerging field of conversation analysis is presented in J. Atkinson and P. Drew. Atkinson and Drew's description suggests a mix of similarities and differences between courtroom talk and everyday conversation. Different kinds of structure, as might be expected, may be identified at different levels of courtroom discourse. The involvement of numerous participants in a courtroom interaction shaped by defined hierarchical roles and a complex framework for participation inevitably results in a highly ritualised discourse genre.
