Hofstra HORIZONS
Through FBI workshops, Hofstra workshops, and other intensive workshops, Fitzgerald and Leonard as a team have given training to ATF, CIA, U.S. Capitol Police, US Secret Service, NYPD, NJ State Troopers, Homeland Security, UN, Mounties, and the FBI NYFO.
Hofstra’s new graduate program Last fall, Hofstra announced the founding of the first North American graduate program specializing in forensic linguistics. In this area, the United States has lagged; there already exist such graduate programs in the UK and Spain, and there is interest in China, in Kenya, and throughout Europe. The Hofstra program, called the Master of Arts in Linguistics: Forensic Linguistics, provides rigorous training in the core competencies of linguistics – phonetics, phonology, grammar, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, etc. – and teaches how a mastery of those theoretical subfields can advance the cause of justice by striving to analyze language evidence as objectively and scientifically as possible. Adviser to the program is Dr. Leonard’s colleague and research partner, Dr. Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, of Georgetown University. Known as the foremost forensic linguist in the United States, he has consulted on some 600 cases, testified as a linguistics expert witness in 26 states and before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in impeachment trials of U.S. senators and federal judges, and in international criminal tribunal trials. Dr. Shuy has written or edited some 40 books on linguistics, including writing 10 books on forensic linguistics. Dr. Leonard has recruited, in addition to former SSA Fitzgerald, a group of dedicated and highly trained linguists from within Hofstra: sociolinguistics is taught by Professor Evelyn Altenberg, dialectology by Dr. Gregory Kershner, general linguistics by Dr. Mari Fujimoto, and phonology, semantics, and pragmatics by Professor Josef Fioretta.
The Hofstra Institute for Forensic Linguistics, Threat Assessment and Strategic Analysis The institute it is an important complementary program to the M.A. in Forensic Linguistics, for its mandate is far broader than the M.A. program. Hofstra’s new institute has the potential to play a pivotal international role in forensic linguistics, threat management, counterterrorism, and related national security competencies. The main foci of the institute are research and training in: • Forensic linguistics in investigation, prosecution, interdiction • Forensic linguistics enhanced threat assessment techniques
the FBI in 1996 case of Theodore Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber. This was the first time ever in U.S. criminal court that linguistic analysis was utilized in a probable cause affidavit to obtain a search warrant. That search warrant authorized the FBI to enter Kaczynski’s Montana cabin and seize bombmaking equipment and other evidence linking him to the 16 Unabom bombings. Kidnapping of reporter Daniel Pearl In a linguistic profile of a letter that accompanied the photos of Pearl with a gun to his head, forensic linguistics demonstrated that it was a non-native speaker of English who had learned UK English; indeed, it turned out the letter had been written by a Pakistani educated in the UK. Since the letter was posted on the Internet, copycats had access to documents, and forensic linguistics was utilized to separate those out. Washington, D.C., sniper Linguistic analysis of the 19-word tarot card suggested that there were possibly two snipers – one older and one younger; this turned out to be the case. A linguistic analysis of the subsequent letters sent to the police suggested that at least one of the authors was African American and that the motivation was not financial, despite the professed indications that it was. They were, indeed, African American, and the motive was to kill the older shooter’s wife. 2005 assassination of ex-president of Lebanon Rafic Hariri A letter of responsibility was left at the bomb scene in Arabic, and translated; a videotape of the suicide bomber speaking was retrieved. Were the letter and the videotape authored by the same person or team of persons? Spoken communication of the bomber was consistent with the written letter. 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombings (and subsequent bombings of gay bar and abortion clinics) Forensic linguistics was utilized to analyze the “Army of God” letters received by the media during the timeframe of these bombings; the letters were forensically compared to the writings of Eric Rudolph. Rudolph’s letters and those involved in the bombings themselves were judged consistent.
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