Performing self on the witness stand: Stance and relational work in expert witness testimony

Abstract

Underpinned by the assumption that social categorizations emerge from discursive practices performed within the interactional context, this study examines the discursive process in which an expert witness constructs and negotiates persuasive courtroom accounts. Using insights from the concept of ‘footing’ and the framework of stance and engagement, this study reveals the ways in which an expert witness calls upon a range of interactional devices to appropriate the desired footing and labeling category. The findings suggest that instead of asserting their dominance and expertise over the interlocutors, experts construct and negotiate their identity by aligning with other participants and establishing a relationship with them. All this is done within the broad constraints of courtroom discourse.