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Article published In:
Journal of Argumentation in Context
Vol. 8:2 (2019) ► pp.245–261

Challenging judicial impartiality

When accusations of derailments of strategic maneuvering derail

| University of Amsterdam

Impartiality is one of the core values underlying the administration of justice. A complaint about a judge’s supposed lack of impartiality may be filed on the grounds of the judge’s verbal behavior. In this article I will analyze complaints that concern the judge’s use of rhetorical questions during court hearings. I will explore what role these complaints may play in the strategic maneuvering of a party who seeks the judge’s disqualification.

Keywords: derailment of strategic maneuvering, disqualification request, impartiality, legal argumentation, strategic maneuvering, rhetorical question
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.A disqualification procedure: Sub-discussion and specific activity type
    • 2.1Arguments in a sub-discussion on the verbal behavior of the judge
  • 3.Complaints about the use of rhetorical questions
    • 3.1The argumentative function of rhetorical questions in legal activity types
    • 3.2Justifying complaints about rhetorical questions in disqualification requests
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 25 September 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.17026.plu
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