"Your Honor our Honor, it was lik , it was like this... e this...": Narr ": Narrative Discourse in Small Discourse in Small Claims Court

Authors

Mark W. Tanner, Brigham Young University - UtahFollow

Keywords

court, small claims, narrative discourse

Abstract

Small claims court is not a building or a courtroom, but a special procedure, established by each state, which simplifies the court process for a specified range of civil disputes involving relatively small amounts of money (Ruhnka 1878: 1). The intent of the small claims process is to provide the parties involved (litigants) with an opportunity for a low cost, speedy means of settling a dispute. Litigants (plaintiff and defendant) in small claims court may represent themselves in a semi-formal setting where the normal legal rules for the presentation of evidence have been simplified.

Original Publication Citation

Tanner, M. (1987, Spring). "Your honor, it was like this...": Narrative discourse in small claims court. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics(pp. 23-31). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania. ACCEPTED

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Tanner, Mark W., ""Your Honor our Honor, it was lik , it was like this... e this...": Narr ": Narrative Discourse in Small Discourse in Small Claims Court" (1987). Faculty Publications. 5964.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/5964

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1987

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/8693

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania

Language

English

College

Humanities

Department

Linguistics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

Copyright Use Information

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/