Characteristics of speech dominance of judges at court hearing in terms of conversation analysis

Question-and-answer interaction refers to the way of exercising power in conversation and is a tool of speech control. In terms of conversation analysis, interruptions and speech overlapping make it possible to exercise power in relation to the participants of the interaction, which allows us to consider them as signs of speech dominance. This article presents the results of a study of judges’ interrogative reactions at hearings, as well as judges’ responses with speech overlapping and interruptions initiated by them. The quantitative analysis of 20 video recordings transcripts of court hearings lasting 9 hours showed that judges ask questions more often than other participants, and are also inclined to initiate speech overlapping and interruptions. The method of conversation analysis revealed that questions in the judge’s speech were a universal tool for regulating speech interaction in court. They do not only shape the court hearing, but are also used to identify additional important facts. Interruptions and speech overlapping initiated by judges also made it possible to exercise the topic control. As a result it can be assumed that the phenomena under study enable judges to achieve the session institutional goals.