What if you were on trial and the verdict of innocent or guilty relied upon whether you and your lawyer had a firm grasp of English grammar? It sounds unsettling, but it may just be more common than you think. A fascinating article appeared over at Grammarly yesterday, which described how important a knowledge of grammar is when studying the law and participating in court cases.
Consider how you may interpret this sentence: "Federal law requires a minimum ten-year sentence for repeat sexual offenders convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward.” Does the last phrase, "involving a minor or ward," apply to each of the three previous examples of sexual abuse or just to the last one, "abusive sexual conduct"? In other words, are these three labels independent crimes, carrying their own definitions regarding victims, or are they all crimes in varying forms against children?
Understanding these tricky linguistic structures may just mean the difference between a reduced sentence and life behind bars. As the article points out, "If law students aren’t familiar with the classifications of grammar, how will they respond to arguments based on grammatical interpretation?" Perhaps this is just one of many reasons why so many that decide to become lawyers first start out in college as English majors.
Take a look at the article for some other interesting examples of how English and the law intersect.
Consider how you may interpret this sentence: "Federal law requires a minimum ten-year sentence for repeat sexual offenders convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward.” Does the last phrase, "involving a minor or ward," apply to each of the three previous examples of sexual abuse or just to the last one, "abusive sexual conduct"? In other words, are these three labels independent crimes, carrying their own definitions regarding victims, or are they all crimes in varying forms against children?
Understanding these tricky linguistic structures may just mean the difference between a reduced sentence and life behind bars. As the article points out, "If law students aren’t familiar with the classifications of grammar, how will they respond to arguments based on grammatical interpretation?" Perhaps this is just one of many reasons why so many that decide to become lawyers first start out in college as English majors.
Take a look at the article for some other interesting examples of how English and the law intersect.