![handle is hein.journals/intjsemi9 and id is 1 raw text is: International Journalfor the Semiotics of Law Vol.IX no.25 [1996]
TO SPEAK OR NOT TO SPEAK
The comprehensibility of the revised police caution (PACE)
by
DENNIS KURZON
Haifa University
I
In the wake of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984
(PACE), and the changes made in Northern Ireland concerning the right
to silence (from 1988), the traditional caution that was addressed to
suspects on arrest has been changed. I would like to analyse the various
versions of the caution, including the most recent one, in terms of their
content and their comprehensibility, and to investigate how the wording
may reflect the current legal position concerning what has at one time
been considered a major bulwark of English justice. The discussion
relates to the English position; however, similar consideration may be
given to what is widely known as the Miranda warning in the United
States, which is the caution read out to suspects to avoid complications
that may derive from infringements of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution (against self-incrimination).
The crux of the entire matter is whether a suspect's silence during
police interrogation can be held against him or her, and likewise,
whether a judge or attorney may refer to the suspect's silence in front of
the jury. This should be understood against the background of how
people interpret silence in the normal course of events. One can disting-
uish primarily two types of silence: (i) psychological, and (ii) intentional.
The first type is unintentional, and stems from various temporary or
permanent inhibitions present in the person being questioned. Under
temporary inhibitions we may include embarrassment due perhaps to
the topic under discussion, while among more permanent inhibitions
figure shyness and various neuroses. Intentional silence, on the other
hand, seems to indicate, to put it mildly, a lack of cooperation. This
total violation of Grice's cooperative principle makes the silent person
immediately suspect, for it will be generally believed that s/he is hiding](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/intjsemi9&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most