Trip to Courtroom Brings Language of the Law Home to Linguistics Class

Students in Pam Frese's "Linguistic Anthropology" course observe proceedings at municipal courthouse

WOOSTER, Ohio - Students in Pam Frese's Linguistic Anthropology course had their day in court earlier this month, and the experience left a lasting impression on their view of the justice system. The purpose of the visit to Wooster's Municipal Courthouse was to observe the language of the law in a real-life setting, something they had been studying in class for several weeks. It was another example of experiential learning, which Frese regularly incorporates into her classes. "Our trip to the court was designed to bring the knowledge of law school pedagogy and the use of formal legal language used to train students to 'think' like lawyers to the students in my class in a way that a traditional classroom setting could never do," said Frese.

The excursion to the courthouse tied in with a discussion about Elizabeth Mertz's book, Language of Law School: Learning to 'Think Like a Lawyer,' an assigned reading that dealt with the nuances and complexities of analyzing U.S. legal language.

Judge Stuart K. Miller, a 1969 College of Wooster graduate, greeted the students with a few brief remarks when they entered the courtroom and then invited them to observe as a series of video arraignments were processed by Judge Carol White Millhoan. The students watched and listened intently as they tried to make the connection between what they had discussed in class and what they were witnessing in court.

Sarah Green-Golan, a junior anthropology major from Brookline, Mass., was quick to make that link. "We had discussed how and why different people talk and act the way they do," she said. "In this setting, we were able to hear the differences in speech between the prosecutor, the public defender, and the defendants themselves. Physically, we were able to see the differences in their body language and the use of space."

After viewing several of the video arraignments, the students were escorted across the hall to the courtroom of Magistrate Corey Spitler, where, one-by-one, the accused came forward with pleas of guilty, not guilty, or no contest to charges that ranged from speeding to reckless driving and illegal drug possession.

Matt Copple, a first-year student from Silver Spring, Md., found great value in the trip to the courthouse. "Seeing the verbal and non-verbal language presented in our text unfolding in front of me helped cement my understanding," he said. "Many people, myself included, only know about court proceedings from what they see on television. Seeing them in person was very informative."

Anne Rochester, a junior religious studies major from Painted Post, N.Y., described the visit as eye-opening. "It definitely gave me a better understanding of the language of law," she said. "It's one thing to read about the language of law or watch it in movies, but to see it in real life was a totally different experience."

Paul Seling, a junior communication sciences and disorders major from Wooster, was surprised by the technical language used in court. "I would be curious to find out if the people in court had a clear understanding of what was being said because there were many times that I was confused," he said. "Our class work is helping us to understand if the language of the court is appropriate for all parties involved, and from this experience it seems as though people who are unfamiliar with the special language of the court are truly disadvantaged."

Jesse Hoselton, a junior classical studies major from Skaneateles, N.Y., described what she saw and heard as enlightening. "I thought going to court was helpful, especially after reading the book because we were thinking from a linguistic perspective and zoning in on the language," she said. "Even though I've seen court language on television, going to court and thinking about the language while I was there made for an interesting experience because I was seeing it in a new light."

Frese's ultimate objective was to help students better understand human communication within social and cultural contexts, and judging from their responses to the courtroom field trip, they got the message.