Forensic Linguists as Expert Witnesses: Examining their Credibility in the Philippine Courtroom

In a jurisdiction where forensic linguistics is still carving out its space and is deemed by some to be “junk science”, questions arise about the discipline’s legitimacy. This paper examines legal professionals’ perspectives on forensic linguists’ credibility as expert witnesses in Philippine courtrooms, positioning this investigation as a pioneering work. Given that forensic linguistics is not yet well known among lawyers and judges in the country, their perspectives on the credibility of forensic linguists as expert witnesses cannot be ignored. Anchored on the four identified credibility factors in the study of Brodsky et al. (2010) as a theoretical lens and employing thematic analysis as its research design, a holistic credibility concept emerged from this study, which can be used as a foundational basis for the establishment of forensic linguists’ professional code of conduct, and a prospective legal framework that regards forensic linguists as expert witnesses.