Northumbria forensic linguist Dr Nicci MacLeod recently gave evidence in a murder trial. She will be referring to this in her talk at an event on the 2nd of July.
In the trial, Nicci provided evidence for the defence on the meaning of specific Urban British English terms. Her talk will discuss some of the problems surrounding the admissibility and provision of linguistic evidence in England & Wales.
Her talk is part of a workshop featuring scholars from a range of disciplines and explores the criminalisation of rap and wider black youth expressive culture in the UK and, comparatively, the US. The workshop stands as part of raised public concern about the procedural unfairness and racist properties of Prosecuting Rap and how it fuels the alarming overrepresentation of young Black people in the criminal justice system.
The event is free but you need to register in advance. You can register here:
Prosecuting Rap: Criminal Justice and UK Black Youth Expressive Culture
Northumbria Englishes 