EVERY ATTORNEY must have the ability to obtain information from others, and to determine whether or not it is accurate. Lawyers can get information through an interrogatory, deposition, or interview. But how do you know it is accurate? One way is through the use of a statement analysis technique called SCAN (Scientific Content ANalysis), a concept developed and refined over the past 30 years by Avinoam Sapir.

The key tenet of SCAN is based on the fact that a truthful statement comes from memory and an untruthful one comes from imagination. Being able to tell the difference can be a great advantage.

An attorney employing the SCAN technique has the advantage of knowing if the information in a statement, letter, report, affidavit, or other document is deceptive, truthful, or incomplete. One of the foundations of SCAN is that people do not lie. They tell the truth, but not always the whole truth. No person recites every detail of anything they have experienced. It takes too long. We all edit—in that we tell only what we think is important to include in a statement. We also do this in conversation.

SCAN takes into consideration only the words used by the person. What the subject does while talking (including body language), what the subject implies, what the listener/reader knows, do not play a role in the analysis.

Applications

SCAN can be applied in any type of case. Due to the recent Kidder decision, which restricts attorney contacts with litigants under protective orders, the tool is of considerable value when examining a victim statement, such as in a domestic violence petition (DVP).

SCAN can be applied anywhere there is an "open statement," one in which subjects can respond with answers of their choice, such as in affidavits, statements, letters and reports. It can also be applied to accident report statements and police reports.

Examples of statement analysis using the SCAN technique follow:

From a domestic violence petition:

"When he finished and continued and ejaculated all over me. He got up and left, I lock the door and went to the bathroom."

Note the change from past tense to present tense in verb usage. "I lock the door," a sign of deception. The story is being constructed from imagination, (present tense), not memory, (past tense). It was later proven the suspect was not even in the State of New Hampshire on the date of the alleged incident.

Using "began," "started," "continued," or "proceeded" are references to a certain break in activity during which we don’t know what the subject did. It is a linguistic indicator that something is missing.

"After he raped me we drove home."

The word "we" indicates voluntary togetherness and should not appear in a rape statement after the crime. It might appear before the crime.

From an accident report:

"I was unfamiliar with the road and turned right onto Dike Rd., instead of bearing hard left on Main St."

The writer wants us to believe he/she is "unfamiliar" but the details of the sentence tell us differently.

"I attempted to open the door and the window of the car but have no recollection of how I got out of the car."

The editing process means that the subject can report only remembrances. What the subject does not remember would not be reported. Therefore, the phrase "have no recollection" in an open statement (which is controlled by the "editing process," unlike answers to specific questions) is a signal of suppressing knowledge.

"I had already passed the intersection of…, going east back to the U-turn."

This indicates a previous visit to the U-turn. This is stated clearly: "back to the u-turn," begging the questions: Where was he going? Was he lost or late?

From general statements:

"I would not do that."

While often taken as a denial, this comment is not a denial of past activity. It is a statement of future intent, telling us what the subject would not do. This is not the same as, "I did not do that."

"I would like to assure the world that I did not plan the recent attacks, which seems to have been planned by people for personal reasons."

In Osama bin Laden’s statement following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the phrase, "I would like to assure you that" is not the same as "I assure you that...." The subject is only saying what he would like to do but he is not saying what he actually does.

From child abuse cases:

It is interesting to note the following in child abuse case statements:

• Many parents who abuse their children have a problem in using the words "son" and "daughter." This is due to the process that a person must undergo in his/her mind before being able to abuse his/her own son/daughter.
• In many cases of child abuse that result in murder, there is a change of language after the murder. As if to say, once the child is dead, the victim is "safe."
• Usually, the word "child" might indicate that the speaker might have been physically and/or sexually abused earlier in childhood.

Practical Uses

A SCAN report is not evidence to be admitted as an exhibit in court. It is a tool to help lawyers obtain and evaluate information.

While working on a rape/assault/criminal restraint case, I analyzed the statement of the victim, and noted it was truthful in the beginning but the rest of the details were problematic, containing many linguistic signals of deception. The defense attorney used the written analysis to prepare cross-examination questions for the victim.

The result was the defendant was found not guilty on all counts, except simple assault, which is what he had admitted to. The cross-examination questions, developed from the analysis, had overwhelmed the prosecutor’s case.

Depositions

SCAN can be applied to a Q&A format, such as a deposition, although not as accurately as when it is applied to an open-ended question posed at the outset. For example: "Tell me everything you know about…" In an open-ended format the subject decides where to start and what to include. There should be no prompting or discussion. Upon completion, the standard deposition format can be followed. SCAN is best applied to a statement dictated or written by the subject. A written statement should not be done on a computer, as a grammar and/or spell checker will alter the statement. The subject’s own words are what is important, not those that are grammatically correct.

"Every person has his own linguistic code," according to Sapir. "By using linguistic methods to break and decipher the subject’s linguistic code, we are able to obtain more information and to reach an accurate decision concerning the reliability of the information."

Methodology and Results

The SCAN analysis looks upon a statement as a mathematical equation. This means that in using SCAN analysts are not only interested in the content of the statement, but in the relationship between: the different links of the statement; the subjective meaning the subject attributes to each word; the different locations in which a certain word is used; and, the relationship between the different words.

"The end result of the SCAN analysis is to know the background information which generated the subject’s vocabulary or dictionary," Sapir explains. "Or, in other words, we would discover the full story that the subject didn’t want to expose openly in the content of the story. The subject’s language exposed it."

SCAN analysts are seeking signs of deception, veracity, or editing – the story behind the story. The technique deals only with activities and not with intentions. SCAN does not focus on what people did, but with what people said that they did.

For more information on SCAN, go to www.lsiscan.com, or e-mail John Healy at jhealy@conknet.com.

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