The politeness of judges: American and English judicial behaviour

Abstract

This study takes a look at politeness phenomena in American and English judicial opinions. The initial position, based on previous research of written texts, points to an extensive use of politeness phenomena even where there is disagreement. However, the material investigated shows that American and English judicial verbal behaviour differs considerably, especially among American appellate judges who do not often mitigate their criticism of colleagues on the same bench and judges in lower courts with whom they disagree.