Coerced confessions

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The book presents a discourse analysis of police interrogations involving U.S. Hispanic suspects accused of crimes, focusing on those whose first language is not English and police officers with limited Spanish proficiency. It highlights the challenges of using police officers as interpreters during custodial interrogations. Employing an interactional sociolinguistic discourse analytical approach, the study microlinguistically examines interrogations related to serious offenses like murder, child molestation, and kidnapping. Communication issues arise from the suspects' limited English and the officers' inadequate Spanish, exacerbated by the officers' reluctance to assume the interpreter role. The text illustrates how pidginization and asymmetrical communicative accommodation develop in contexts of significant power imbalances. Cultural factors, such as deference to authority and socioeconomic status, can lead individuals from certain Latin American backgrounds to engage in "gratuitous concurrence," responding affirmatively to police inquiries even when they do not genuinely agree. Additionally, the book discusses the potential for abuse in unrecorded police interrogations. It reviews appellate cases involving police interpreters over thirty-four years, concluding that the assignment of a police officer as an interpreter jeopardizes the integrity of Miranda rights during custodial interrogations.