Linguistics in the Courtroom: Incorporating Considerations of Language and Context to Improve Criminal Court Consent Analysis

A legal conundrum occurs every day: suspects regularly incriminate themselves by voluntarily granting their verbal consent to requested searches by law enforcement officers, yet later move to suppress on the basis that they never agreed to such a thing. When these disputes arise, fact finders are left to adjudicate a fundamentally linguistic issue—whether the presence of voluntary consent existed. Herein lies the problem. The current totality test that is used to make this determination gives judges enormous discretionary power to evaluate the merits of the case, but is completely devoid of methodology grounded in linguistic theory that could guide the court to a rational conclusion regarding the effect of language upon the interaction. Accordingly, voluntary consent to search jurisprudence appears disorderly, and suspects are routinely disadvantaged. The solution to this problem is both simple and more attuned to the realities of human interaction: linguistics. In recent years, scholars have called attention to the utility of certain linguistic considerations, such as pragmatics, the study of how context contributes to meaning, and its relevant sub-theories, in analyzing officer-suspect interactions in related contexts such as Miranda rights jurisprudence. However, even though linguistics promises greater equality and more precise findings, courts today fail to consider linguistic inputs with any consistency, if at all. This Comment reinvigorates the conversation about pragmatics in the courtroom—specifically emphasizing its value as a tool to better understand how suspects interpret requests for consent by power figures, such as law enforcement officers. Ultimately, this Comment will break new ground by proposing a series of solutions that can be implemented both in and out of court to reduce the effect of linguistically problematic language. First and foremost, courts should eliminate elements of the current totality test that find no support, or, even worse, contradictory evidence, in linguistic research, such as that which accounts for the cordiality of the exchange. Furthermore, by adopting the lens used in Fourth Amendment seizure analysis and Miranda custody jurisprudence—that of the reasonable suspect—courts can take steps toward correcting the systemic inequities that suspects face in the courtroom without overburdening themselves. Finally, the institution of a series of best practices for officers who seek to procure consent would not only provide suspects with a true opportunity to understand the nature of the questions being asked of them and protect themselves from unwanted privacy intrusions, but also decrease frivolous litigation over the merits of consent

Noninvasive Encapsulated Follicular Variant of Papillary Thyroid Cancer: Clinical Lessons from a Community-Based Endocrine Surgical Practice

Objective. Retrospective studies have found that noninvasive encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer (EFVPTC) exhibits highly indolent clinical behavior. We studied the clinical features of our patients with noninvasive EFVPTC tumors culled from a community endocrine surgical practice registry over the past four years. Methods. We interrogated the Memorial Center for Integrative Endocrine Surgery (MCIES) Registry for all recorded encapsulated follicular variant of papillary cancer pathologic diagnoses. We identified a subgroup of patients without capsular or vascular invasion and studied their clinical characteristics. Results. Thirty-seven patients met inclusion and exclusion criteria. The typical patient was young and female. Nodules averaged 3.1 cm in greatest dimension by ultrasound evaluation. Thirteen patients were found to have synchronous malignancies elsewhere in the thyroid (35%). At the time of this writing, we have not seen a clinical recurrence in any of our 37 noninvasive EFVPTC patients. Conclusions. Early clinical follow-up data suggests that the majority of noninvasive EFVPTC tumors exhibit indolent behavior, but clinical decision-making with regard to completion thyroidectomy, central lymph node dissection, and adjunctive radioiodine therapy often depends on the amount and type of synchronous thyroid cancer detected elsewhere in the thyroid gland and the central neck

Multiple, but Concerted Cellular Activities of the Human Protein Hap46/BAG-1M and Isoforms

The closely related human and murine proteins Hap46/BAG-1M and BAG-1, respectively, were discovered more than a decade ago by molecular cloning techniques. These and the larger isoform Hap50/BAG-1L, as well as shorter isoforms, have the ability to interact with a seemingly unlimited array of proteins of completely unrelated structures. This problem was partially resolved when it was realized that molecular chaperones of the hsp70 heat shock protein family are major primary association partners, binding being mediated by the carboxy terminal BAG-domain and the ATP-binding domain of hsp70 chaperones. The latter, in turn, can associate with an almost unlimited variety of proteins through their substrate-binding domains, so that ternary complexes may result. The protein folding activity of hsp70 chaperones is affected by interactions with Hap46/BAG-1M or isoforms. However, there also exist several proteins which bind to Hap46/BAG-1M and isoforms independent of hsp70 mediation. Moreover, Hap46/BAG-1M and Hap50/BAG-1L, but not the shorter isoforms, can bind to DNA in a sequence-independent manner by making use of positively charged regions close to their amino terminal ends. This is the molecular basis for their effects on transcription which are of major physiological relevance, as discussed here in terms of a model. The related proteins Hap50/BAG-1L and Hap46/BAG-1M may thus serve as molecular links between such diverse bioactivities as regulation of gene expression and protein quality control. These activities are coordinated and synergize in helping cells to cope with conditions of external stress. Moreover, they recently became markers for the aggressiveness of several cancer types

Chaperone activation of the hepadnaviral reverse transcriptase for template RNA binding is established by the Hsp70 and stimulated by the Hsp90 system

Hepadnaviruses are DNA viruses that replicate by protein-primed reverse transcription, employing a specialized reverse transcriptase (RT), P protein. DNA synthesis from the pregenomic RNA is initiated by binding of P to the ε signal. Using ε as template and a Tyr-residue for initiation, the RT synthesizes a DNA oligo (priming) as primer for full-length DNA. Priming strictly requires prior RT activation by chaperones. Active P–ε complexes have been reconstituted in vitro, but whether in addition to the heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) system the Hsp90 system is essential has been controversial. Here we quantitatively compared Hsp70 versus Hsp70 plus Hsp90 RT activation, and corroborated that the Hsp70 system alone is sufficient; however, Hsp90 as well the Hsp70 nucleotide exchange factor Bag-1 markedly stimulated activation by increasing the steady-state concentration of the activated metastable RT form P*, though by different mechanisms. Hsp90 inhibition in intact cells by geldanamycin analogs blocked hepadnavirus replication, however not completely and only at severely cytotoxic inhibitor concentrations. While compatible with a basal level of Hsp90 independent in vivo replication, unambiguous statements are precluded by the simultaneous massive upregulation of Hsp70 and Hsp90

The Lid Domain of Caenorhabditis elegans Hsc70 Influences ATP Turnover, Cofactor Binding and Protein Folding Activity

Hsc70 is a conserved ATP-dependent molecular chaperone, which utilizes the energy of ATP hydrolysis to alter the folding state of its client proteins. In contrast to the Hsc70 systems of bacteria, yeast and humans, the Hsc70 system of C. elegans (CeHsc70) has not been studied to date

Linguistics in the Courtroom: Incorporating Considerations of Language and Context to Improve Criminal Court Consent Analysis

A legal conundrum occurs every day: suspects regularly incriminate themselves by voluntarily granting their verbal consent to requested searches by law enforcement officers, yet later move to suppress on the basis that they never agreed to such a thing. When these disputes arise, fact finders are left to adjudicate a fundamentally linguistic issue—whether the presence of voluntary consent existed. Herein lies the problem. The current totality test that is used to make this determination gives judges enormous discretionary power to evaluate the merits of the case, but is completely devoid of methodology grounded in linguistic theory that could guide the court to a rational conclusion regarding the effect of language upon the interaction. Accordingly, voluntary consent to search jurisprudence appears disorderly, and suspects are routinely disadvantaged. The solution to this problem is both simple and more attuned to the realities of human interaction: linguistics. In recent years, scholars have called attention to the utility of certain linguistic considerations, such as pragmatics, the study of how context contributes to meaning, and its relevant sub-theories, in analyzing officer-suspect interactions in related contexts such as Miranda rights jurisprudence. However, even though linguistics promises greater equality and more precise findings, courts today fail to consider linguistic inputs with any consistency, if at all. This Comment reinvigorates the conversation about pragmatics in the courtroom—specifically emphasizing its value as a tool to better understand how suspects interpret requests for consent by power figures, such as law enforcement officers. Ultimately, this Comment will break new ground by proposing a series of solutions that can be implemented both in and out of court to reduce the effect of linguistically problematic language. First and foremost, courts should eliminate elements of the current totality test that find no support, or, even worse, contradictory evidence, in linguistic research, such as that which accounts for the cordiality of the exchange. Furthermore, by adopting the lens used in Fourth Amendment seizure analysis and Miranda custody jurisprudence—that of the reasonable suspect—courts can take steps toward correcting the systemic inequities that suspects face in the courtroom without overburdening themselves. Finally, the institution of a series of best practices for officers who seek to procure consent would not only provide suspects with a true opportunity to understand the nature of the questions being asked of them and protect themselves from unwanted privacy intrusions, but also decrease frivolous litigation over the merits of consent

Surgical utility of Afirma: effects of high cancer prevalence and oncocytic cell types in patients with indeterminate thyroid cytology.

OBJECTIVE: The Afirma Gene Expression Classifier (GEC) molecular marker assay was developed for the purpose of improving surgical decision-making with indeterminate fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies of thyroid nodules. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the GEC over 27 months in a community hospital-based thyroid surgery practice. METHODS: We began using GEC and Thyroid Cytopathology Partners (TCP) exclusively for thyroid FNA analysis in January 2011, shortly after the Afirma GEC became commercially available. In this paper, we focus on patients with indeterminate FNA results and the outcomes of GEC analysis, with particular attention paid to the calculation of the negative predictive value (NPV) of the Afirma test. RESULTS: We performed 645 FNAs in 519 patients over 27 months. Overall, 58 FNAs (9%) were read as indeterminate, with 36 of these classified as suspicious by GEC (62%), 20 characterized as GEC benign (34%), and 2 determined to be inadequate due to low mRNA content. Of the 36 suspicious GEC patients, 30 underwent thyroidectomy, and 21 of the 30 had malignant final pathology. Of the 20 benign GEC patients, 5 underwent thyroid surgery, and 2 were discovered to have malignancies. The NPV for the Afirma GEC in our practice environment was 89.6%. CONCLUSION: In a practice with a high incidence of thyroid cancer in patients with indeterminate FNAs (33% for our practice), the NPV of the Afirma GEC test may not be as robust as suggested in the existing literature