Professor Eggington has been a consultant and expert witness in many criminal, civil, federal and state cases involving assessment of English language proficiency, trade name disputes, the grammar and meaning of contracts, authorial attribution, hate crime determination and language policy legislation.

Originally from Australia, Dr. Eggington is an applied sociolinguist, a field that involves the study of how people use language in natural settings. He has co-edited six books and written one textbook that focus on the role of the English language nationally and internationally, and has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters in volumes published by major national, international and professional association presses. In addition to this work, he conducts research on matters involving language and the law. This "forensic linguistic" research has resulted in the following publications and presentations:

Publications related to language and the law:

“Language and the Law: An Overview of Forensic Linguistics.” In Proceedings of the Linguistics Society of Korea 2014 Conference. Linguistics Society of Korea, 2014.

“Using Elicited Oral Response Testing in Order to Determine the Need for an Interpreter” (with Troy Cox). In Harvard Latino Law Review, Spring 2013

“Finding Justice in Translation: Recent American Jurisprudence Affecting Due Process for Linguistic Minorities Together with Practical Solutions” (with Judge Lynn W. Davis, Maxwell Alan Miller, Adam Prestidge). In Harvard Latino Law Review. Spring 2011.

“Deception and Fraud.” In Dimensions of Forensic Linguistics, M. Teresa Turell and John Gibbons (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins 2008.

Research Presentations Involving Forensic Linguistics:

2019: “Law and Corpus Linguistics in Brief.” Invited to present at the Annual Language and Law conference, Brigham Young University Law School. Audience consisted of lawyers, including prosecutors, public defenders, and law enforcement representatives. This was a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) event. March 2019.

2019: “Corpus Linguistics Workshop” (with James Heilpern). A workshop to Justices and law clerks of the Georgia State Supreme Court, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2019.

2019: “Non-native English Speakers and Their Comprehension of Legal English.” Invited to present at the Annual Law and Corpus Linguistics Conference, Brigham Young University Law School, February 2019.

2018: “Language proficiency and citizen’s rights.” Invited to present at the Language and Law Forum, University of Utah, April 2018.

2018: “Fair and equal language access to justice for those not proficient in English.” A Continuing Legal Education (CLE) presentation with Judge Lynn W. Davis (Utah Fourth District Court). Invited to present at the Annual Language and Law conference, Brigham Young University Law School, March 2018. Audience consisted of lawyers, including prosecutors, public defenders, and law enforcement representatives.

2017: “Black Pragmatics Matter: Miscommunication between U.S. Police and Inner-City African Americans,” with Tanner Call. International Association of Forensic Linguistics Conference, Porto, Portugal, July 2017.

2017: “Causes and Effects of the Complexity of Legal Language in South Korea,” with SunOk Kim. International Association of Forensic Linguistics (IAFL) Conference, Porto, Portugal, July 2017.

2016: “Forensic linguist versus sociolinguist: A battle within.” Invited to present at an “Invited Colloquia: Applied Linguistics in the Courtroom.” American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference, April 2016.

2016: “Free Speech, Hate Speech: Exploring the Language of Hate Crimes.” Invited to present at an “Extraordinary Session: Panel on Hate Speech.” Linguistics Society of America Annual Conference, Washington D.C. January 2016.

2015: "Are Dictionaries Done? The Developing Role of Corpus Linguistics in Definitional Disputes." Invited to present at the Association of Corporate Counsel Quarterly Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah.

2014: “Linguistics Elements of Hate Crimes Revisited.” West Coast Round Table of Language and the Law. Missoula, Montana, July 2014.

2014: “Language and the Law: An Overview of Forensic Linguistics.” Invited plenary address, Linguistics Society of Korea Annual Conference, Seoul, Korea, May 2014,

2013: "Some Matters American Jurisprudence Should Know about the English Proficiency of Linguistic Minorities." Invited speaker, Utah State Bar Association Conference, St. George, Utah, March 2013.

2012: “How Blind Is Justice in the Age of Proximity?” UCLA Multilingualism in Institutional Contexts Conference, Los Angeles. Invited Speaker, November 2012.

2012: “Intercultural Rhetoric in the Age of Proximity.” 7th Intercultural Rhetoric and Discourse Conference, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Invited Plenary Speaker, August 2012.

2012: “Measuring Language Ability in Legal Contexts” (with T. Cox). Georgetown University Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics 2012. Georgetown University, Washington D.C. March 2012.

2011: "Some Matters American Jurisprudence Should Know about the English Proficiency of Linguistic Minorities." West Coast Symposium on Language and the Law. San Diego State University, August 2011.

2011: Elicited Imitation as a Determiner of the Need for a Court Interpreter” (with T. Cox and S. Wood). International Association of Forensic Linguistics Conference, Birmingham, U.K. July 2011.

2011: “The Consequences of Feigned Comprehension in Interrogation Settings” (with T. Cox and S. Wood). International Association of Forensic Linguistics Conference, Birmingham, U.K. July 2011.

2010: “Toward solving the language testing paradox in English language planning, teaching and learning.” Invited Opening Plenary Speaker, Current Trends in Language Testing Conference, Dubai, UAE. November 2010. Funded by U.S. State Department.

2010: “Toward solving the language testing paradox in English language planning, teaching and learning”. Teacher seminar, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, November 2010. Funded by U.S. State Department.

2009: “Fake Comprehension Strategies by Non-native English Speakers in Police Interrogations.” International Association of Forensic Linguistics Conference, Amsterdam, NL., July 2009.

2007: “Linguistic Elements of Hate Crimes, ”International Association of Forensic Linguistics Conference, Seattle, WA, July 2007.

2006: “Resolving Trade Name Legal Disputes through Corpus Research” (with M. Davies). The American Association of Applied Corpus Linguistics. American Association of Applied Corpus Linguistics.” Flagstaff, Az., October 2006.

2005: “Studies in Forensic Linguistics for Pre-Law Students.” International Association of Forensic Linguistics Conference, Cardiff, Wales, July 2005.

2004: From Brand Name to Generic Name: The Kelley Blue Book Cases”. American Names Society Conference at Linguistics Society of America conference, Boston, MA, January 2004

2003: From Brand Name to Generic Name: The Kelley Blue Book Cases. International Association of Forensic Linguistics Conference. Sydney, Australia, July, 2003.

Professional Affiliations:

• Member, International Association of Forensic Linguistics
• Member, Linguistics Society of America (served as co-chair of the Linguistics in Higher Education Sub-committee, 2011-2012)
• Member, Teachers of English to Speakers of English International Association (former member, Board of Directors, 2003-2006)