The status of generic structure in expert opinions. Insights from a comparative analysis of American, Russian and Bulgarian documents

Stanisław Goźdź-Roszkowski

University of Lodz

Julia Mazurkiewicz-Sułkowska

University of Lodz


Abstract

This paper attempts to describe expert opinions from a comparative and genre-based perspective. It addresses the central question of whether expert opinions follow any specific rhetorical and organizational patterns and the extent to which these may have been imposed by the respective judicial institutions in Russia, Bulgaria and the USA.  After reviewing the institutional contexts and constraints imposed on experts and their opinions, the analysis focuses on exploring the status of generic structure in three sets of documents: US common law opinions, Russian and Bulgarian civil law opinions. The concept of ‘generic model’ has been approached from the perspective of Genre Analysis using the model of ‘rhetorical moves’ (Swales 1990; Tardy & Swales 2014). The analyses have revealed that expert witnesses can be described in terms of individual text segments, each with distinct rhetorical or communicative purpose(s). While most identified text segments are shared by all the opinions, irrespective of the legal system, the major difference is that the generic structures of Russian and Bulgarian opinions are strictly regulated by law, which results in increased levels of detail and conventionality. In contrast, the discourse community of American experts has much more leeway in shaping the conventions of the genre, as long as the experts take account of the general standards contained in the Federal Rules of Evidence. American opinions reflect not only the expertise of their authors but also their individual style.


Keywords:

generic structure, expert opinion, US common law, adversarial system, Russian legal system, Bulgarian legal system


ANGELOV, A. (2007), Zhanroviyat model kato komponent ot kachestvenata hrakteristika na vestnika. Sofia. [Ангелов, А. (2007), Жанровият модел като компонент от качествената храктеристика на вестника. София.]   Google Scholar

AVER'YANOVA, T. V./ROSSINSKAYA, YE. R. (1999), Entsiklopediya sudebnoy ekspertizy. Moskva. [Аверьянова, Т. В./Россинская, Е. Р. (1999), Энциклопедия судебной экспертизы. Москва.]   Google Scholar

BHATIA, V. (1993), Analysing genre: Language use in professional settings. London.   Google Scholar

BHATIA, V. (2004), Worlds of Written Discourse. Continuum. London.   Google Scholar

BIBER, D./CONNOR, U./UPTON, T./KANOKSILAPATHAM, B. (2007), Introduction to move analysis. In: Biber, D./ Connor, U./Upton, T. (eds.), Discourse on the Move. Using corpus analysis to describe discourse structure. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 23-41.
Crossref   Google Scholar

BOBEV, K. (1979), Formirane na ubezhdenieto na eksperta-kriminalist. Sofia. [Бобев, К. (1979), Формиране на убеждението на експерта-криминалист. София.]   Google Scholar

BOBEV, K. (2013), Izpolzvane na spetsialni znania v nakazatelnoto i grazhdanskoto proizvodtstvo – sastoyanie i problemi. In: Yuridicheski sbornik. XX, 22-31. [Бобев, К. (2013), Използване на специални знания в наказателното и гражданското производтство – състояние и проблеми. В: Юридически сборник. XX, 22-31.]   Google Scholar

BROMBY, M. C. (2002), The Role of and Responsibilities of the Expert Witness within the UK Judicial System, unpublished doctoral dissertation.   Google Scholar

BUTYRIN, A. YU./DANILKIN, I. A. (2018), Vyvody v zaklyucheniyakh eksperta po ugolovnym delam o khishcheniyakh v stroitel'stve. In: Teoriyai praktika sudebnoy ekspertizy. 13 (1), 71-75. [Бутырин, А. Ю./Данилкин, И. А. (2018), Выводы в заключениях эксперта по уголовным делам о хищениях в строительстве. В: Теория и практика судебной экспертизы. 13 (1), 71-75.]   Google Scholar

COULTHARD, M./JOHNSON, A. (2009), An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics. London.   Google Scholar

CZABAŃSKI, J. (2006), Pozycja biegłych sądowych w wybranych krajach europejskich. Instytut Wymiaru Sprawiedliwości. W: https://iws.gov.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/J-Czaba%C5%84ski-Pozycja-bieg%C5%82ych-s%C4%85dowych-w-wybranych-krajach-europejskich-2006.pdf [dostęp: 10.02.2022].   Google Scholar

GOŹDŹ-ROSZKOWSKI, S./MAZURKIEWICZ-SUŁKOWSKA, J. (forth. in 2022), Opinia biegłego jako gatunek specjalistyczny w sądowej praktyce zawodowej (w systemie prawnym anglosaskim i rosyjskim). W: Academic Journal of Modern Philology.   Google Scholar

GROOM, N./GRIEVE, J. (2019), The evolution of a legal genre. Rhetorical moves in British patent specifications. In: Fanego, T./Rodriguez-Puente, P. (eds.), Corpus-based Research on Variation in English Legal Discourse. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 1711-1860.
Crossref   Google Scholar

KASABOVA, I./MIHAYLOVA, G. (2018), Narachnik za veshti litsa. Vratsa. [Kacабова, И./Михайлова, Г. (2018), Наръчник за вещи лица. Враца.]   Google Scholar

KREDENS, K. (2021), Biegły językoznawca w systemie kontradyktoryjnym. W: Iustitia. 4, 217-221.   Google Scholar

KRESTOVNIKOV, O. A. (2018), K voprosu o razvitii yazyka obshchey teorii sudebnoy ekspertizy. In: Teoriya i praktika sudebnoy·ekspertizy. 13(4), 24-27. [Крестовников, О. А. (2018), К вопросу о развитии языка общей теории судебной экспертизы. В: Теория и практика судебной экспертизы. 13(4), 24-27.]   Google Scholar

KUZNETSOV, A. A. (2014), Ponyatiye, vidy i naznacheniye sudebnykh ekspertiz v Rossiyskoy Federatsii. Omsk. [Кузнецов, А. А. (2014), Понятие, виды и назначение судебных экспертиз в Российской Федерации. Омск.]   Google Scholar

LESNYAK, V. V. Sudebnaya ekonomicheskaya ekspertiza. In: https://studfile.net/preview/6335263/ [accessed: 11.03.2022]. [Лесняк, В. В. Судебная экономическая экспертиза. В: https://studfile.net/preview/6335263/ [доступ: 11.03.2022].]
Crossref   Google Scholar

MCMENAMIN, G. (2002), Forensic Linguistics. Advances in forensic stylistics. London.
Crossref   Google Scholar

ORLOV, YU. K. (2004), Ispol'zovaniye spetsial'nykh znaniy v ugolovnom sudoproizvodstve. Moskva. [Орлов, Ю. К. (2004), Использование специальных знаний в уголовном судопроизводстве. Москва.]   Google Scholar

PANARINA, D. V. (1), Sovremennyye problemy i tendentsii razvitiya yazyka obshchey teorii sudebnoy ekspertizy. In: https://www.dissercat.com/content/sovremennye-problemy-i-tendentsii-razvitiya-yazyka-obshchei-teorii-sudebnoi-ekspertizy [accessed: 11.03.2022]. [Панарина, Д. В. (1), Современные проблемы и тенденции развития языка общей теории судебной экспертизы. В: https://www.dissercat.com/content/sovremennye-problemy-i-tendentsii-razvitiya-yazyka-obshchei-teorii-sudebnoi-ekspertizy [доступ: 11.03.2022].]   Google Scholar

PANARINA, D. V. (2), Sovremennyye terminologicheskiye problemy metodologii sudebnoy ekspertizy. In: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sovremennye-terminologicheskie-problemy-metodologii-sudebnoy-ekspertizy [accessed: 11.03.2022]. [Панарина, Д. В. (2), Современные терминологические проблемы методологии судебной экспертизы. В: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sovremennye-terminologicheskie-problemy-metodologii-sudebnoy-ekspertizy [доступ: 11.03.2022].]   Google Scholar

PANARINA, D. V. (3), Yazyk kriminalistiki i sudebnoy ekspertizy v strukture nauchnogo znaniya. In: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/yazyk-kriminalistiki-i-sudebnoy-ekspertizy-v-strukture-nauchnogo-znaniya [accessed: 11.03.2022]. [Панарина, Д. В. (3), Язык криминалистики и судебной экспертизы в структуре научного знания. В: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/yazyk-kriminalistiki-i-sudebnoy-ekspertizy-v-strukture-nauchnogo-znaniya [доступ: 11.03.2022].]   Google Scholar

RADBIL', T. B./YUMATOV, V. A. (2014), Yazyk sudebnoy ekspertizy: tendentsii formirovaniya i razvitiya. In: Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta im. N. I. Lobachevskogo. 3 (2), 185-190. [Радбиль, Т. Б./Юматов, В. А. (2014), Язык судебной экспертизы: тенденции формирования и развития. В: Вестник Нижегородского университета им. Н. И. Лобачевского. 3 (2), 185-190.]   Google Scholar

SOLAN, L. (2010), The forensic linguist. The expert linguist meets the adversarial system. In: Coulthard, M./Johnson, A. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Forensic Linguistics. London/New York, 395-407.
Crossref   Google Scholar

SVETLICHNYY, A. A./PANARINA, D. V. K voprosu o teoreticheskikh i prakticheskikh problemakh, vyzvannykh diskussionnost'yu termina «sudebnaya ekspertiza». In: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/k-voprosu-o-teoreticheskih-i-prakticheskih-problemah-vyzvannyh-diskussionnostyu-termina-sudebnaya-ekspertiza/viewer [accessed: 11.03.2022]. [Светличный, А. А./Панарина, Д. В. К вопросу о теоретических и практических проблемах, вызванных дискуссионностью термина «судебная экспертиза». В: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/k-voprosu-o-teoreticheskih-i-prakticheskih-problemah-vyzvannyh-diskussionnostyu-termina-sudebnaya-ekspertiza/viewer [доступ: 11.03.2022].]   Google Scholar

SWALES, J. (1990), Genre Analysis: English for Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge.   Google Scholar

SZCZYRBAK, M. (2022), Interacting with the expert witness: Courtroom epistemics under a discourse analyst’s lens. In: Dieter/Nieto, G. V. (eds.), Language as evidence. Doing forensic linguistics. London.
Crossref   Google Scholar

TARDY, CH. M./SWALES, J. (2014), Genre analysis. In: Schneider, K. P./Barron, A. (eds.), Pragmatics in discourse. Berlin,165–187.
Crossref   Google Scholar

TIERSMA, P./SOLAN, L. (2002), The linguist on the witness stand: forensic linguistics in American courts”. In: Language. 78, 221-39.
Crossref   Google Scholar

TIKHOMIROV, M. YU. (eds.) (2009), Yuridicheskaya entsiklopediya. Moskva. [Тихомиров, М. Ю. (ред.) (2009), Юридическая энциклопедия. Москва.]   Google Scholar

TREUSHNIKOV, M. K. (2005), Sudebnyye dokazatel'stva. Moskva. [Треушников, М. К. (2005), Судебные доказательства. Москва.]   Google Scholar

TSETSKOV, TS. (1998), Sadebni ekspertizi. Sofia. [Цецков, Ц. (1998), Съдебни експертизи. София.]   Google Scholar

TSETSKOV, TS. (1994), Organizatsiya na sadebna ekspertiza v Bulgaria. Sofia. [Цецков, Ц. (1994), Организация на съдебна експертиза в България. София.]   Google Scholar

VLADIMIROVA, S. B. (2021), Sudebnoye ekspertnoye zaklyucheniye kak rechevoy zhanr (na materiale sudebno-meditsinskoy·ekspertizy). In: Zhanry rechi. Speech Genres. 1 (29), 41–48. [Владимирова, С. Б. (2021), Судебное экспертное заключение как речевой жанр (на материале судебно-медицинской экспертизы). В: Жанры речи. Speech Genres. 1 (29), 41–48.]
Crossref   Google Scholar

WOJTAK, M. (2008), Wzorce gatunkowe wypowiedzi a realizacje tekstowe. W: Ostaszewska, D./Cudak, R. (red.), Polska genologia lingwistyczna. Warszawa, 353−360.   Google Scholar

ZAŚKO-ZIELIŃSKA, M. (2019), Pytania stawiane biegłemu. W: Zaśko-Zielińska, M./Kredens, K. (red.), Lingwistyka kryminalistyczna. Teoria i praktyka. Wrocław, 17-19.   Google Scholar

Laws and cases cited   Google Scholar

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993).   Google Scholar

Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 702 (US).   Google Scholar

Download


Published
2023-01-08

Cited by

Goźdź-Roszkowski, S., & Mazurkiewicz-Sułkowska, J. (2023). The status of generic structure in expert opinions. Insights from a comparative analysis of American, Russian and Bulgarian documents. Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski, 13(2), 317–331. https://doi.org/10.31648/pw.8467

Stanisław Goźdź-Roszkowski 
University of Lodz
Julia Mazurkiewicz-Sułkowska 
University of Lodz