Oscar G. Chase

Narrative, Inference, and Law in Cultural Context

This essay begins with a heartfelt Preface in honor of Jerome Bruner and a brief description of our work and friendship. I then proceed to discuss the relationship between narrative, inference, and law, a theme that Jerry and I discussed on many occasions. The legitimacy of a legal system depends on in large part on its power to find or construct a set of facts relevant to the rule at hand that resonates with the society that it serves. After discussing the nature of narrative I explore the way in which cultural factors influence inference and thus the world of law. I discuss two legal controversies in the U.S. that deal with facts in the legal sense. One concerns the definition of “father” in relation to child custody. The second describes how a criminal prosecution is affected by narratives about the behavior of young African-American men, and then later by a narrative about police behavior. These cases show that narrative can construct or distort reality; its power derived from its cultural sensitivity.