Legal proceedings are a seminal example of a cultural performance. For this case study I observed Murder trial proceedings at the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Taylor Square) - September 2004

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THFI 1002 READING PERFORMANCE                                        LAURA GOODMAN

PEFORMANCE ANALYSIS FIELWORK EXERCISE                                z3100656

DUE THUSDAY 16th SEPTEMBER WEEK 8

Legal proceedings are a seminal example of a cultural performance.

For this case study I observed Murder trial proceedings at the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Taylor Square) – September 2004

         

The performance of a legal proceeding; its content, manner, actors, audience and setting, all reflect certain cultural and societal traditions evident in the practice of age old English tribunals from which the Australian legal system has derived.  Yet, from an analysis of these various element one can recognize how this practice reflects the influenced (or lack there of) of many other societal values, religion, gender roles and modernity, on society as a whole.

The content of the courtroom performance is based on legal documentation and practice, its roots deeply embedded in precedent and values imbued by the “rule of law”.  The script of the performance, being the arguments presented by the adversarial bodies and the interaction of the Judge, are carefully comprised and supported by written legal documentation which remains on display for all to see. Folders of evidence and research and secondary materials litter the courtroom and serve the purpose to legitimize oral arguments and intimidate the opposing side.  

Dialect is formal and formulaic. The well versed professionals and practitioners adopt an extensive and sophisticated vocabulary, decorated with Latin phrases, legal jargon, power statements, catch phrases, reference to documented precedent and evidence as well as biblical, literary and scientific allusion.

Expressions of authority and acumen are ceremoniously enacted with respect to official court participants, dramatizing social distance from others as well as indicating an elevated status. For example, the judge is referred to as "Your Honor" and "The Court"; attorneys are referred to as "learned counsel," "opposing counsel," "learned colleague"; the bailiff as "court security officer"; police officers by their respective rank; jury members as "Ladies and Gentlemen." In contrast, the accused is not granted the same official, authoritative considerations. He is depersonalized and merely becomes "the defendant," or "this man".

Although court procedure is a seemingly secular display, age old Judeo-Christian values permeate the doctrines and the performance itself. Courtroom observers, as well as defendants, are exposed to majestic rhetorical devices: a robed, priestly arbiter bestowing rights of justice from the elevated "bench" or altar; participants and observers commanded to stand when the moderator enters the scene; hidden passageways leading to unknown areas. These contextual aspects promote an awe-inspiring setting of legitimacy and authority. Defendants, jury members, and the public are thus confronted by a "place" whose subdued lighting, wooden pews, acoustics, and ornate hardwood and marble inlaid walls create an environment of solemnity and respect, not unlike the atmosphere of a small sacred chapel. These symbolic features of the courtroom are designed to communicate a sense of seriousness and sobriety, especially with respect to the ritual of adjudication. A Latin inscription and ornate plaque positioned behind the judge may implicitly persuade the public and participants to accept the authority of the law and its officers in the name of that which is patriotic. Contextual devices which comprise the courtroom not only communicate authority, but also mystify it through the use of ultimates in order to rhetorically transcend the material world and to spiritualize a very secular sort of power.

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Oath-taking also presents a rhetorical context that symbolizes law as a "sacred" perspective of justice and courtroom procedures. Jurors, when impaneled, recite a pledge demonstrating their induction as semi-official participants. Witnesses, when called forth to testify, must also promise and pledge their veracity in providing information. In fact, some oaths require the witness to "promise" before God to tell the "whole truth." The oath then invokes a powerful deity which is called upon to witness testimony and assist in judgment. By means of oath-taking, a sacred power is transferred to an earthly context- the courtroom. Oath-taking acts as a notice ...

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