Linguistics for Justice: Advancing Reforms in the Criminal Legal System

Date: 19-Jul-2025 - 20-Jul-2025
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Contact: Dominique Branson, Samantha Jacobs, Tyler Kendall, and Sharese King
Contact Email: [email protected]
Meeting URL: https://forms.gle/Gf64pK4ztbqSJGxT8

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics

Submission Deadline: 30-Apr-2025

We are excited to announce the upcoming conference, Linguistics for Justice: Advancing Reforms in the Criminal Legal System, which will be held on the weekend of July 19-20, 2025, as part of the Linguistic Society of America’s Summer Institute in Eugene, Oregon. This conference will bring together linguists, legal professionals, and social scientists to explore how linguists, and the field of linguistics, can play a larger role in advancing criminal legal reforms.

The criminal legal system is deeply intertwined with language, from the interpretation of documents and testimonies to how race, social disparities, and marginalized communities are represented in the courtroom. The language used by legal professionals, including judges, lawyers, and jurors, can often perpetuate bias and inequality. This conference aims to foster collaboration between linguists and legal experts to explore ways linguistic expertise, research, and engagement can be used to address injustices and support reform efforts. The conference will pay particular attention to the criminal legal system in the United States.

Key highlights of the conference include:
* Plenary: Prof. John Baugh (Rice University), a leading voice in linguistic research on social disparities, will kick off the event with a plenary talk on the role of linguistics in promoting justice.
* Poster Session: We invite students, faculty, and researchers to present their ongoing work in this important area, fostering a space for knowledge exchange and collaboration. (See below for a link for the submission form.)
* Sessions on Key Topics: The conference will feature panel discussions on topics such as:
- Linguistics and criminal justice reform
- Mass incarceration, race, and language variation in the U.S.
- Non-English languages in the U.S. criminal justice system
- Linguistic approaches and methodologies to advancing legal work
- Career and funding opportunities for linguistics researchers and students in legal contexts
- The role of linguists as legal experts
* Networking and Professional Development: We aim to create opportunities for participants to connect, share research, and explore career paths at the intersection of linguistics and law.

This conference is a unique opportunity to engage with critical issues at the intersection of language and justice and to build relationships that will foster future collaborations. We hope the event will inspire linguists and legal professionals alike to explore how linguistic expertise can contribute to real-world reforms in the criminal justice system.

Call for Posters: We invite participants to submit posters showcasing their ongoing research on topics related to linguistics and criminal justice. This is a great opportunity to share your work and connect with others in the field.

Travel Grants: We are offering a small number of travel grants for domestic travel, prioritizing graduate students and post-docs and other early-career researchers.

To submit an abstract for a poster or an application for a travel grant, please visit: https://forms.gle/Gf64pK4ztbqSJGxT8 .
Abstracts and travel grant applications are due by April 30, 2025.

The conference will be free to attend.

We look forward to your participation in this important conversation!

Organizing Committe:
Dominique Branson, Samantha Jacobs, Tyler Kendall, and Sharese King

Contact us: [email protected]
Submissions & Applications: https://forms.gle/Gf64pK4ztbqSJGxT8